Big Tech scrambles to meet EU rules, may face investigations

The world’s biggest tech companies have overhauled their core platform services to comply with EU rules forcing them to play fairer with rivals but will likely face investigations ahead amid criticism their efforts may have fallen short.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is one of the most comprehensive regulatory actions to rein in so-called “Big Tech” —Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Tiktok owner Bytedance — and is expected to reshape the global technology industry after decades of unfettered growth. Criticism from rivals and users and cautionary comments from watchdogs suggest a couple of the six companies may be in the regulatory crosshairs over potential non-compliance in the coming months.

If any of the six tech giants are not compliant with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by the EU’S Thursday deadline, they could ultimately face investigations and potentially fines of up to 10 per cent of their global turnover.

The European Commission’s reaction to the compliance efforts could take several months as they review the changes and build up a watertight case able to withstand a legal challenge. Apple is the most affected by the DMA, which forces the iphone maker to open up its closed ecosystem such as allowing software developers to distribute their apps to users in the European Union outside of its own App Store.

Yet its introduction of new fees such as a “core technology fee” of 50 euro cents per user account each year even if developers opt not to use Apple’s App Store or payment system has already caught EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager’s eye.