After Apple had to make big changes in Europe to comply with the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), Microsoft and Booking .com is also subject to antitrust laws …
Apple makes changes in accordance with the DMA
The DMA uses market size to determine whether a company is large enough in a particular area to be labeled in as a gatekeeper. This means that the company has enough market dominance to be able to put obstacles in the way of potential competitors.
Apple has been appointed as the gatekeeper for the App Store and its Safari web browser. The iPhone maker has announced new policies on both issues, although it has not yet convinced regulators that it is complying with them.
Microsoft is also subject to DMA, not Teams
Microsoft, which faced landmark antitrust charges in the US in 2001, is now also found to be subject to DMA DMA over chat and video conferencing apps Teams.
Microsoft Team was launched by the company back in 2016 as a direct competitor to Slack, after the tech giant refused to buy the chat company. It was later decided that Teams would replace Microsoft Classroom and Skype for Business.
The reason the company is now facing antitrust issues is because it has bundled Teams with Microsoft 365, meaning its customers are less likely to use competing products. like Slack. This reflects the initial US charge of merging Internet Explorer with Windows.
Microsoft responded by proposing to separate Teams, but it was unclear whether that would be enough to satisfy regulators.
The Financial Times says the EU has completed its investigation and is set to formally announce antitrust charges against the company despite the split-up plan.
The European Commission is moving forward with a formal charge, according to three people familiar with the move.
People familiar with their views say EU officials remain concerned that the company did not go far enough to ensure fairness in the marketplace. Competitors are concerned that Microsoft will make Teams more compatible than rival apps with its own software. Another issue is the lack of data portability, which makes it difficult for existing Teams users to migrate to alternatives.
An announcement is expected within the next few weeks, although the report says Microsoft may make further offers aimed at preventing accusations. Neither Microsoft nor the EU wanted to comment.
Booking.com too
Bloomberg reports this travel booking site Booking.com has also been appointed as a gatekeeper and reports to the DMA. It has been accused of providing consumers with biased hotel listings in which it favors deals that earn the company the highest commissions over those that offer travelers the best deals.
X is safe for now
The social network formerly known as Twitter also faces an investigation into whether its ad-selling business operated in an anti-competitive manner. , but the EU found that this was not the case.
However, the regulator is still deciding whether the rest of X's services can fall under the DMA.
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