Big tech companies are criticizing the European Commission’s new digital competition enforcement regime by filing legal action against TikTok and Meta Platforms this week.
Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft are all considered “gatekeeper” companies under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Union’s new digital regulatory framework, for 22 key online services they operate – all of them App stores and social networks to messaging services and online marketplaces.
Meta on Wednesday became the first company to announce that it had filed a lawsuit in the General Court of the European Union against the EU’s revised enforcement regime, challenging EU officials’ decision to bring its marketplace and messenger services within the scope of the new regime for digital competition.
TikTok owner ByteDance argued Thursday that its video-sharing platform had been incorrectly classified as a social network under the new law. The company also had concerns about being targeted as a digital giant as it sees itself as a challenger to the other “gatekeeper” companies that have a vast ecosystem of digital services.
The six target companies had until November 16 to submit their legal documents. Some have already said they are unhappy with the new labels the Commission has given them, according to documents published online in recent weeks.
Some companies are already making changes to the way they conduct their business in Europe. Facebook and Instagram will offer paid, ad-free subscriptions in the EU. Google has opened data exchange as part of German and Italian antitrust proceedings.
Their other option is to persuade the European Union judges to overturn the Commission’s decisions.
But we don’t understand!
Companies designated as gatekeepers can apply to the EU General Court to overturn individual decisions. That’s exactly what Meta and TikTok did in their filings on Wednesday.
Alfonso Lamadrid, a partner at law firm Garrigues, said they could claim they did not understand why certain services were covered by the law and that EU officials had not provided “sufficient justification.”
They could also appeal — now or later — against the Commission’s investigation into whether Apple’s iMessage should be considered core platform services along with Microsoft’s Bing search engine, its Edge web browser and its advertising service. There is a deadline of February 6th to complete this. A further investigation into Apple’s iPadOS will run until September 6th next year.
Lamadrid — who has worked with Google on antitrust challenges, including the tech giant’s recent appeal of an antitrust fine on its shopping service — said he doesn’t think big tech companies “will take the decision to appeal very lightly.”
The commission “respects the companies’ right to appeal and will defend its decisions in court,” said spokeswoman Lea Zuber. “In parallel, we will continue our work with all gatekeepers to ensure effective implementation of the DMA by March 7,” she said.
Who could complain?
Meta and TikTok are not the only gatekeepers dissatisfied with the Commission’s decisions so far.
Meta is not the only gatekeeper dissatisfied with the Commission’s decisions so far | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
According to commission documents, Apple had previously argued with the commission that its services should not be subject to the new rules.
Apple unsuccessfully tried to convince authorities that its App Store comes in five separate versions for different devices and its Safari browser comes in three versions, which would reduce the number of active users for each service. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
ByteDance previously told the Commission that its viral video app “is about content discovery, not about building or maintaining real-world connections,” according to an EU decision published last month.
The telecommunications companies are also dissatisfied. They told the Commission to designate Apple’s iMessage as a core platform service that must follow DMA restrictions, according to a letter to Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton obtained by POLITICO.
What do the others say?
Microsoft is considered the gatekeeper for its social network LinkedIn and the Windows PC operating service. Microsoft spokesman Robin Koch said in September that the tech giant “accepts our designation as gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act and will continue to work with the European Commission” to meet its obligations.
Alphabet – which has eight core platform services targeted by the DMA, including Google search and the Chrome web browser – said in September it would “work closely with the European Commission and other stakeholders” and “make changes that reflect the new Meeting requirements while protecting the user experience.”
Alphabet – which has eight core platform services targeted by the DMA, including Google search and the Chrome web browser – said in September it would “work closely with the European Commission and other stakeholders” and “make changes that reflect the new Meet requirements while protecting the user experience.” | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Amazon’s marketplace and advertising businesses were classified as core platform services under the DMA in September. The company said at the time that it was “committed to providing services that meet the needs of our customers in Europe’s evolving regulatory environment” and would “work constructively with the European Commission as we finalize our implementation plans.”
Earlier this year, Amazon challenged another digital label in the EU, asking a court to overturn the Commission’s declaration that it was a very large online platform.
But with the rules only four months away from being enforceable, any challenge could test the bureaucratic hassle.
“This is an important time for compliance now,” Lamadrid said, “so having a court case pending while trying to negotiate compliance with the Commission is not ideal… I don’t think that which is the company’s responsibility. “It is in the best interest to upset the Commission.”
This article was updated on November 16 to include recent developments and to add a comment from the Commission.