Digital Markets Act: the new law’s implementation and enforcement
Over the past 15 months the European Commission has actively implemented and enforced gatekeepers’ obligations under the DMA
Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is the first legislation of its kind worldwide, providing a comprehensive set of new rules fit for the digital age we live in, while at the same time complementing traditional antitrust laws.
Designated gatekeepers had to comply with the set of well-specified obligations within the DMA by March 7, 2024. Over the past 15 months the European Commission has actively implemented and enforced these obligations, thus safeguarding the ‘dos and don’ts’ gatekeepers must adhere to.
Shortly after the DMA implementation deadline, the Commission opened five non-compliance investigations against several tech giants. On March 25, 2024, the Commission initiated formal proceedings against Apple, Alphabet and Meta:
- Two cases against Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and user choice obligations;
- Two cases against Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search; and
- One case against Meta’s ‘pay-or-consent’ model.
The Commission also opened another non-compliance investigation against Apple’s contract terms concerning alternative app distribution on May 24, 2024. No new cases have been opened thus far in 2025.
During its second year of enforcement, the Commission issued preliminary findings of non-compliance to Alphabet on March 19, 2025. The Commission ruled that Alphabet technically prevents certain aspects of steering on Google Play and that it offers preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping, hotel booking, transport, or financial and sports results, by presenting them very prominently on Google’s search engine.
On April 23, 2025, the Commission also informed Apple of its preliminary view of non-compliance since several components of Apple’s contract terms concerning alternative app distribution breach the DMA, while it closed its investigation into Apple’s user choice obligations under the DMA, as Apple made numerous changes to its compliance measures.
By issuing preliminary findings, the Commission is of the preliminary view that gatekeepers have breached the DMA. Gatekeepers have the possibility to exercise their rights of defence by examining the Commission’s investigation documentation and reply in writing to these preliminary findings. If these are ultimately confirmed, the Commission would adopt a non-compliance decision.
The Commission also issued its first non-compliance decisions on April 23, 2025, against Apple and Meta. The Commission fined Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million for breaching the DMA.
The fine imposed considered the gravity and the duration of the non-compliance. Both decisions contain a cease-and-desist order, whereby gatekeepers must comply with the Commission’s decision within 60 days or risk periodic penalty payments. Apple has already appealed the Commission’s decision, while Meta is expected to follow suit.
Apple’s anti-steering case
Under the DMA, app developers that distribute their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able to inform and steer customers to alternative offers outside the App Store, and provide pricing information within the app. The Commission found that Apple breached its steering obligations by imposing several restrictions that prevented app developers from fully benefitting from advantages of alternative distribution channels outside the App Store, and in turn preventing customers benefitting from alternative and cheaper offers.
The Commission has ordered Apple to remove the technical and commercial restrictions on steering and refrain from perpetuating this non-compliant conduct in future.
Meta’s pay-or-consent case
Meta introduced its ‘pay-or-consent’ business model in November 2023, whereby EU users of Facebook and Instagram could only choose between either consenting to personalised advertising by allowing the processing of their personalised data or paying a monthly subscription fee for an ads-free service.
The Commission found that this model is not compliant with the DMA, as under its rules, gatekeepers must seek users’ consent for the combination of their personal data, and if users do not give such consent they must have access to a less personalised but equivalent alternative. DMA rules were breached as the Meta ‘pay-or-consent’ model did not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent. In November 2024, Meta introduced a new version of the model that allegedly uses fewer personal data to display advertisements, which the Commission is still assessing and has not been considered in the decision.
Both decisions highlight the importance the EU gives to implementing the DMA to prevent powerful gatekeepers from abusing their market power.
While some may argue that these fines are relatively low given the gatekeepers’ significant size on the market, and also relatively low compared to the fines that the Commission has issued to big tech companies in the past (e.g. Google was fined a record €4.1 billion antitrust fine for its anti-competitive behaviour), one has to consider that these are the first fines issued under the DMA.
The DMA’s enforcement in the EU is still at its early stages, and its long-term impact is yet to be seen. Even if in its infancy, the Commission has already taken several steps to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the DMA to achieve fairness and contestability in the digital sector, thus promoting fair competition.
Sean Buttigieg is a senior economics officer at the MCCAA’s Office for Competition.