European Union regulates duopoly Apple and Google as platform gatekeepers

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The European Union has passed legislation to limit the powers of big “gatekeeper” tech companies that can control access to app platforms.

European Parliament legislation is likely to impact mobile gaming platform owners Google and Apple, as well as other platform operators.

Richard Hoeg, attorney at Hoeg Law, tweeted, "Apple will sue until the heat dies of the universe." That's a big deal because Epic Games largely failed in a lower court ruling in the United States in its case alleging antitrust violations by Apple as owner of the iOS mobile app platform. Epic is appealing the case, in which Apple won most decisions and lost on a relatively small point. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted, "Happy July 5th." A business coalition backed Epic.

We have requested comments from Google and Apple.

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The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) were proposed in 2020, and now the group has officially passed its "digital services package" legislation.

Companies such as Apple and Google are likely to be categorized as "gatekeepers" due to their size and entrenched market positions under DMA rules. It remains to be seen which other potential guardians are affected by the law.

Guardians will need to adhere to restrictions intended to curb anti-competitive behavior. For example, they must now allow users to install apps from third-party app stores and download them directly from the internet. Epic Games is suing Apple and Google for this right, which is against platform policies.

Gatekeepers will also need to offer third-party payment systems in apps and allow developers to promote offers outside of the gatekeeper's platforms.

And gatekeepers will have to let developers integrate their digital apps and services directly with those owned by gatekeepers. This means that they must be able to integrate with services such as messaging, voice calls and video calls. Developers will also have access to hardware features such as Near Field Communication (NFC), security technologies and processors, means of authentication and software to control these technologies.

Developers will likely be able to offer services cheaply on their own websites, escaping the platform fee of 30% of the purchase price. They could pass this on to the consumer or use the profits to improve their apps for consumers.

The EU has also done some things for the benefit of consumers. Controllers must accept that consumers can uninstall any app and opt out of core platform services. Users will have the option to replace a default voice assistant with a third-party option, share data and metrics with developers or competing platforms. This includes marketing and advertising performance data.

Each platform will need to set up an independent compliance group to monitor its compliance with EU law. Gatekeepers will not be permitted to pre-install software applications and will require users to use default software such as web browsers. Guardians may not promote their own applications, products or services. And they will have to notify the EU of any mergers and acquisitions.

When it comes to privacy, guards can...