Alphabet, Apple, Meta to be probed by EU under DMA

The European Commission has opened non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act into Alphabet’s (GOOGL) rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple’s (AAPL) rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta‘s (META) “pay or consent model”. The Commission said it suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA. In addition, the Commission said it has launched investigatory steps relating to Apple’s new fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon’s ranking practices on its marketplace. Finally, the Commission has ordered gatekeepers to retain certain documents to monitor the effective implementation and compliance with their obligations. The Commission has opened proceedings to assess whether the measures implemented by Alphabet and Apple in relation to their obligations pertaining to app stores are in breach of the DMA. The Commission is concerned that Alphabet’s and Apple’s measures may not be fully compliant as they impose various restrictions and limitations. The Commission has opened proceedings against Alphabet, to determine whether Alphabet’s display of Google search results may lead to self-preferencing in relation to Google’s vertical search services over similar rival services. Finally, the Commission has opened proceedings against Meta to investigate whether the recently introduced “pay or consent” model for users in the EU complies with Article 5(2) of the DMA which requires gatekeepers to obtain consent from users when they intend to combine or cross-use their personal data across different core platform services. The Commission intends to conclude the proceedings opened today within 12 months.