New EU rules for tech giants could change the future

DNHN - There is a chance that the European Parliament and EU countries could limit the power of U.S. technology "giants" like Google and Apple as well as Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Microsoft, and more.

People in the EU have agreed on two new laws, the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple users in New York will soon be able to download apps from outside of the App Store.

WhatsApp users can text or video calls their friends on Telegram, and Telegram users can do the same.

And the search results people see on Google can be different, which could have a big impact on small businesses that sell things online.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) could make a lot of big changes to how people in the EU and around the world interact with big tech companies, like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook.

By putting new rules on the big tech companies, the DMA could make a lot of big changes to how people in the EU and around the world interact with big tech companies.

Regulators from a lot of different countries have come up with new rules to keep Big Tech under control. The EU's proposal is one of the most ambitious and could be the one that gets the most attention. 

Executive Vice President of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager says that the DMA could be in place by October, which would be a good start.

Mitch Stoltz, a senior lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says this is a big deal because it's the first set of rules for internet platforms that are both comprehensive and strong.

Even pro-tech groups who don't like the DMA agree that the law will make a lot of changes. "

“Many things make Big Tech platforms change,” said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of Chamber of Progress, an industry group that is backed by Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook's parent company, Meta.

In the same way, some tech groups also say that the DMA could have unintended consequences for businesses and consumers.

While the law is clearly aimed at the power of US tech companies, it doesn't specifically target any companies. When the DMA doesn't do this, it creates a special group of market-dominating big players that are subject to more regulation.

If a company has more than 45 million monthly users in the EU, has EU revenue of at least 7.5 billion euros or has a market value of at least 75 billion euros, it is thought to be the market leader.

The regulations will only apply in Europe. Many policy experts think that the ideas in the DMA could one day be put into law all over the world, both because it sets the bar high for policymakers.

Other governments and technology companies may choose to adopt the changes more widely.

People at Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group in the US, say that it's often easier for businesses to make changes globally than to make them in one place alone.

There are likely to be changes made to US products that meet EU rules.

Some of the proposed changes to apps that users in the European Union will see the most are how people can install them and what apps can come pre-installed on phones and tablets.

This could have a big impact on Apple and Google, two of the world's largest mobile operating system and app store providers.

Most popular operating systems must allow for smaller, third-party app stores, as well as the ability to install apps from outside of the store.

Google has allowed both on the Android platform in the past, but Apple has kept a close eye on iPhone apps.

Apple and other businesses have said that opening up the operating system in this way could make people more likely to get harmful apps.

A competition lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft says that people who want a more open Apple app store will find something in this new law. "

On the other hand, a lot of people buy Apple products because they trust Apple to make apps that are good and work well with their devices. Consumers who aren't happy with the law may not like it.

"According to the new rules, the dominant app stores can't also remove apps from their lists if they don't use their payment system, which has been a big issue in an antitrust case.”

App Store revenue is a big part of Apple's business. Apple gets a 30% cut of digital goods and services sold in apps through its payment channels, so the terms of those sales may be different.

The business model of the company is directly influenced by these changes. Other things about DMA can affect the software that comes with electronics.

Gatekeeper platforms that control both a web browser and a mobile operating system at the same time won't be able to set their browser as the default, says Agustin Reyna, a senior legal officer at BEUC.

Instead, users will be able to choose from a lot more things. Consumers will see a pop-up when they first start up their phones. It will ask them if they want to install another browser or search engine.

In the case of DuckDuckGo, a smaller Google competitor, it won't take many people to act on the prompts to make a big difference in the fight.

Even if just 1% of Google search users switch to DuckDuckGo, that's a big deal for DuckDuckGo.

It's been said that Google pays Apple billions of dollars a year to make sure that Google is the default search engine on Apple products.

When people in the European Union used Google's browser and search engine pickers in 2019, European officials found that the company had broken antitrust rules.

DMA can change what people see when they search for things on Google. Under self-priority laws, big businesses can't put their products and services above those of other businesses and will also be asked to rate competitors' products and services in a "fair and non-discriminatory" way.

If this is true, it could help small travel search platforms and review sites, as well as businesses that get traffic from Google when people search for airline tickets or places to eat. Under the new rules, Google won't be able to put its travel and restaurant reviews at the top.

Reyna says that even though search results may be the first place to put a self-priority ban in place, it can also be used more broadly.

This self-priority rule applies to all of the big tech companies. On the other hand, Apple would not be able to put its own Apple Music service above Spotify or its competitors.

 Bao Bao