Episode 1 | Taming the economic power of large online platforms with the Digital Markets Act

Summary

The episode explains why the European Union adopted the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to address the economic power of large online platforms, how the law works, and why it has attracted international criticism.

Why large platforms raise concerns

• Platforms such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and TikTok act not only as sellers but also as intermediaries between businesses and consumers.
• By controlling important gateways to customers and information, they can influence markets, public debate, and potentially democratic processes.
• Network effects help explain how their influence grows: a service can become more valuable as more people use it, which in turn attracts more businesses and developers.
• These effects can cause markets to “tip” toward a small number of dominant firms, creating dependencies for both businesses and consumers.

What the DMA changes

• Adopted in 2022, the DMA aims to keep digital markets fair and contestable by imposing obligations and prohibitions on the largest, most influential platforms.
• It complements traditional EU competition law rather than replacing it.
• Traditional competition cases generally require lengthy, case-by-case investigations to establish that harmful conduct has occurred. The DMA instead sets rules in advance, allowing the European Commission to act before a platform excludes competitors or exploits consumers.
• The episode uses the Google Shopping case to illustrate the limits of the older approach: the Commission’s decision came years after the complainant said it had been demoted in search results, and a final court judgment took even longer.

Who counts as a gatekeeper

A gatekeeper is a platform with a strategic position between businesses and consumers that can control access to digital markets.

The DMA uses presumptions based on factors including:

• A company’s turnover or market value, as indications of its impact on the EU internal market.
• The number of users, as an indication that the platform is an important route for businesses to reach consumers.
• Whether the company’s core platform services have held a significant and durable market position, assessed over a period of years.

These presumptions can be challenged, but the episode characterizes the burden of rebuttal as high.

TikTok example

• TikTok challenged its designation as a gatekeeper before the EU’s General Court, the first-instance court for this kind of dispute.
• It argued that, despite its size and popularity, it did not have an entrenched, durable position and remained a strong challenger to services such as Facebook and Instagram.
• As described in the episode, the court’s key takeaway was that the DMA creates a strong presumption of gatekeeper status that can be rebutted only in exceptional circumstances. TikTok was therefore correctly designated.

Services covered and future review

The DMA applies to specified core platform services, including:

• Online search engines
• App stores
• Operating systems
• Online marketplaces
• Cloud services
• Virtual assistants

Because digital services evolve quickly, the DMA includes periodic review. The episode says the Commission must review the regulation every three years. It also reports that the first review, published in April 2026, found the DMA still fit for purpose and did not recommend changing the list of covered services.

Enforcement and examples of obligations

• The European Commission, particularly its Directorate-General for Competition, is the central enforcer.
• National competition authorities cannot independently enforce the DMA against gatekeepers, but they can—and must—assist the Commission, including by sharing information.
• The DMA contains both obligations and prohibitions. Examples discussed include:
  • Messaging interoperability: Services such as WhatsApp must enable users to communicate with users of other messaging apps.
  • No self-preferencing: Gatekeepers cannot give their own services preferential treatment, such as in search rankings.
  • Limits on using business-user data: Platforms such as Amazon cannot use data generated by third-party sellers to compete against those sellers.
• Compliance may require platforms to redesign services, change business practices, open up technical capabilities, or amend contractual terms.

Non-compliance and sanctions

• The episode says the Commission issued its first non-compliance decisions in April 2025, against Apple and Meta.
• In the Apple example, the Commission found that Apple had restricted app developers from telling users about alternative, often cheaper offers outside the App Store. The episode reports a €500 million fine.
• Fines can reach 10% of a company’s worldwide turnover, rising to 20% for repeated infringements.
• In serious cases, the Commission may impose behavioural or structural remedies, potentially including divestment. However, the discussion emphasizes that the DMA’s main focus is securing compliance, not simply punishing companies.

International debate and central takeaway

• The Trump administration is described as criticizing the DMA for disproportionately affecting US technology companies and stifling innovation.
• The EU cannot be required by the US administration to repeal the law, though digital regulation may feature in trade negotiations.
• The episode’s central conclusion is that the DMA represents a shift from responding to proven abuses after they happen to proactively shaping digital markets through advance rules.

Speakers and sources featured

Speakers

• Nicolas de Sadeleer — interviewer and host.
• Sébastien Fassiaux — guest and legal expert; the subtitles render his name inconsistently.

Institutions, cases, and companies discussed

• European Parliament and Council of the European Union
• European Commission and its Directorate-General for Competition
• EU General Court and Court of Justice
• Google Shopping case
• TikTok’s gatekeeper designation challenge
• Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon, and WhatsApp
• The US administration’s criticism of the DMA

Other audio

Introductory and closing music is heard; no music speaker is identified in the subtitles.