EU Digital Markets Act
Regulation (EU) 2022/1925
EU competition rules targeting gatekeeper platforms to ensure fair and contestable digital markets. Designates the largest platform operators and imposes specific dos and don'ts on their core platform services.
A handful of very large technology companies control the platforms that millions of businesses and consumers depend on every day -- app stores, search engines, social networks, messaging services, operating systems, and online advertising. Because these platforms sit between businesses and their customers, they can set the rules of engagement. The Digital Markets Act is the EU's answer to that power imbalance.
The law identifies these dominant platform operators as "gatekeepers" and imposes a specific set of dos and don'ts on their behaviour. For example, gatekeepers can no longer prevent app developers from telling users about cheaper offers available outside the app store. They cannot force users to keep default apps they did not choose. They must let competing messaging services talk to theirs. And they cannot combine a user's personal data across their different services without clear, freely given consent.
Seven companies have been designated so far: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta, Microsoft, and Booking.com. Since the compliance deadline in March 2024, the European Commission has opened multiple investigations and issued the first fines -- EUR 500 million against Apple for blocking app developers from steering users to alternative offers, and EUR 200 million against Meta for its "pay or consent" data combination model.
For most businesses, the DMA is good news. If you sell through an app store, advertise on a large platform, or depend on a gatekeeper's ecosystem, you gain new rights: the freedom to communicate with your customers, to offer different prices on your own channels, and to access data generated by your business activity on the platform. The penalties for gatekeepers that break the rules are severe -- up to 10% of global annual turnover, or 20% for repeat offences.
The DMA moved from legislation to active enforcement in under two years. The Commission has sole enforcement authority and has already imposed the first fines.
Seven companies have been designated as gatekeepers under the DMA. Click each to see their core platform services and compliance status.
The DMA identifies nine categories of core platform services. Click a category to see which gatekeepers operate services of that type.
The DMA's substantive obligations are contained in Articles 5 (self-executing prohibitions), 6 (obligations susceptible to specification), and 7 (interoperability for messaging). Click each article to see the full list.
The Commission has opened multiple non-compliance proceedings since June 2024. This tracker shows the current status of each case.
DMA non-compliance fines and related Art. 102 TFEU antitrust fines imposed on gatekeepers. Total fines to date: EUR 3.34 billion.
| GATEKEEPER | AMOUNT | DATE | ARTICLE | REASON | APPEAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | EUR 1.84 billion | Mar 4, 2024 | Art. 102 TFEU | Anti-steering practices restricting music streaming app developers from informing iOS users about cheaper subscription options outside the App Store. | YES |
| Apple | EUR 500 million | Apr 23, 2025 | Art. 5(4) DMA | Non-compliance with DMA steering obligations: failure to allow app developers to freely steer users to alternative offers and content outside the App Store. | YES |
| Meta | EUR 797.72 million | Nov 14, 2024 | Art. 102 TFEU | Tying Facebook Marketplace with Facebook social network, leveraging dominant social network position into classified advertising market. | YES |
| Meta | EUR 200 million | Apr 23, 2025 | Art. 5(2) DMA | Non-compliance with DMA personal data combination rules via the "pay or consent" model, which failed to offer users an equivalent service using less personal data. | NO |
Select your company type for tailored compliance guidance.