Elon Musk’s social networking platform X, ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, and Booking.com might satisfy EU requirements that would make them subject to strict digital regulations as “gatekeepers,” the European Commission announced late Friday following warnings from the aforementioned companies.
Companies with more than 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization of 75 billion euros ($81 billion) are classified as gatekeepers by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and provide a fundamental platform service for corporate customers.
Beginning on March 7, these businesses must, among other things, ensure that their messaging apps work with competitors and allow customers to select which apps to pre-install on their smartphones.
They are not permitted to restrict consumers from uninstalling pre-installed software or apps or to favor their own services over those of competitors.
The companies can be designated as gatekeepers or not, and the Commission has 45 working days to make that decision. In a statement, the EU competition enforcer added, “The Commission will also evaluate any argument presented by the submitting companies to refute the assumption that they should be designated as gatekeepers.”
In July of last year, ByteDance was called a gatekeeper; however, TikTok has contested that at the second-highest court in Europe. What further ByteDance services might fall under the DMA’s definition of a fundamental platform service is unclear.
Due to an increase in customers, Booking.com (BKNG.O) stated last year that it anticipated entering the gatekeeper group this year.
