On September 6, 2023, the European Commission (EC) returned from its summer break with full force and announced the designation of six tech companies as so-called “gatekeepers” under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and

Continue Reading Into the Final Stretch: Six Gatekeepers Confirmed Under the EU’s Digital Markets Acts

Midnight on July 3, 2023, heralded the deadline for potential gatekeepers to notify the European Commission (EC) as to whether they meet the thresholds for gatekeepers set out in Article 3 of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).Continue Reading The Final Countdown: Designation of Digital Platforms Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act Formally Underway

In a landmark judgment issued on July 4, 2023, the European top court, the Court of Justice (ECJ), ruled that competition authorities in the EU can consider a company’s compliance with the EU’s data protection rules when assessing whether it abused its dominant position. In addition, the ECJ ruled on important General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) clarifications on the legal bases for personalized advertising.

The judgment sets out how competition agencies should cooperate with data protection agencies when conducting competition investigations involving the consideration of whether a company’s data collection and processing practices comply with EU data protection rules.Continue Reading EU’s Top Court Rules That Competition Authorities Can Consider Data Protection Breaches in Their Investigations

On December 9, 2022, the European Commission (EC) published its draft Digital Markets Act (DMA) Implementing Regulation, which will be open for public comment until January 6, 2023. The package is designed to give guidance

Continue Reading Some Light Holiday Reading: Draft Procedural Guidance on the EU’s Digital Market Act Open for Consultation

On September 20, 2022, an adviser to the EU’s top court opined that competition authorities may consider a company’s compliance with the EU’s data protection rules as part of an abuse of dominance investigation.

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Continue Reading EU Court Opinion: Competition Authorities May Consider Data Protection Breaches in Their Investigations

On October 12, 2022, the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (see here), giving clarity as to when the new rules will apply. The DMA will enter into force on November 1, 2022, and it will become fully applicable in May 2023. At that point, the gatekeeper designation process will start, and once designated, gatekeepers will have six months to comply with the DMA. This means that the DMA will only be fully enforceable against companies in spring 2024, likely around March.
Continue Reading Formal Publication of the DMA and Timelines for Compliance

On July 18, 2022, the long-awaited Digital Markets Act (DMA) received the final approval of the EU’s co-legislators. The DMA will impose stringent far-reaching obligations on the largest digital platforms: the “gatekeepers.” The regulation will give the European Commission (EC) significant new enforcement powers, including the ability to impose severe fines and remedies in case of non-compliance.

The DMA will profoundly change the way in which big tech platforms operate in the EU. It will capture the largest tech companies and potentially 15-20 other platforms such as Alibaba and Booking.com. It will also create complications for non-gatekeepers, as the rules will impact how data can be shared with a gatekeeper’s commercial partners.
Continue Reading D(MA)-Day: Formal Adoption of the EU Digital Markets Act