An agreement has just been reached on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will tackle the market power of Big Tech. MEP Paul Tang followed the negotiations and is delighted: “In record time, Europe has reached an agreement on a law that will fundamentally change the Internet. Abuse of power by Big Tech will be prohibited and heavily punished. This will finally give competitors a fair chance and consumers power over their own data.”
In December, the European Parliament adopted its position on the DMA. Since then, negotiators from the European Commission, European member states and the European Parliament negotiated proposals that would impose a series of obligations and restrictions on digital gatekeepers. If the companies do not comply with the laws, they risk huge fines with breaking up of the company as the most severe sanction.
Paul Tang considers the new rules as a real game-changer: “We managed to ensure that chat apps must be interoperable, so you can send messages from Signal to WhatsApp and vice-versa. In addition, we are tackling data power by requiring that gatekeepers are no longer allowed to combine data.”
Negotiations on the sister bill, the Digital Services Act (DSA), are still ongoing. However, one major victory is achieved tonight as a result of Tang’s efforts: “The data of minors and data on one’s health conditions, sexual preferences or religious data will be prohibited for targeting of advertisements. With this, we are taking aim at the business model of the largest tech giants.”
The final text will be published in the upcoming weeks. The law is expected to come into force in 2023.
