From CNET: Europe reached a key milestone Thursday in the renegotiation of its rules governing the tech industry, announcing agreement on the upcoming Digital Markets Act between the European Parliament and EU member states. The legislation amounts to an overhaul of antitrust rules in Europe and will give the EU more power to rein tech giants.
The foremost example of this is the approach to messaging apps. The DMA will require companies with messaging apps to make them interoperable. This includes the biggest messaging apps in the world, such as Meta's WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger and Apple's iMessage. Meta and Apple will be obliged to ensure people using these services can exchange messages, photos and videos among all messaging apps, both big and small.
This could pose a complex tech challenge for companies, but they have a strong incentive to comply. If they break Europe's upcoming rules, they could be fined up to 10% of their global annual revenue, jumping to 20% for repeated infringements. The size of the fines reflects the fact that the EU is "serious about this common endeavour," Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton said in a statement.
The aim of the Digital Markets Act is to ensure an equal and level playing field among tech companies that want to compete in the EU in order to ensure that European citizens have the benefit of choice.
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