The EU’s Digital Markets Act Explained: What Businesses Need to Know

What is the Digital Markets Act and why does it matter?

The Digital Markets Act ((EU) 2022/1925) (DMA) entered into force on 1 November 2022 and came into effect on 2 May 2023.

The DMA has 109 recitals, the ‘whereas…’ clauses at the beginning. These explain the rationale behind the regulation – which includes fostering innovation, preserving choice and complementing competition – and place it within a particular setting. For example, recital 3(3) begins:

‘A small number of large undertakings providing core platform services have emerged with considerable economic power…’.

Key obligations for gatekeepers under the DMA

A stated focus of the DMA is safeguarding contestability and fairness in the digital sector – ‘contestable’ and ‘fair markets’ being key words within the long title of this EU regulation. As explained in the preamble to the DMA:

Contestability

‘…contestability should relate to the ability of undertakings to effectively overcome barriers to entry and expansion and challenge the gatekeeper on the merits of their products and services. The features of core platform services in the digital sector, such as network effects, strong economies of scale, and benefits from data have limited the contestability of those services and the related ecosystems…’. (Recital (32))

Unfairness

‘…unfairness should relate to an imbalance between the rights and obligations of business users where the gatekeeper obtains a disproportionate advantage…’. (Recital (33))

To achieve this, gatekeepers must comply with obligations such as:

• end user switching (Article 6(6));
• interoperability (Article 6(7));
• data portability (Article 6(9)), and
• data access for business users (Article 6(10)).

Who qualifies as a gatekeeper and what are core platform services?

The DMA establishes criteria (in Article 3 of the regulation) for the European Commission, the enforcer, to identify ‘gatekeepers’.

Gatekeepers are large digital platforms that provide core platform services (CPSs), which act as important gateways between businesses and end users within the EU. (End users under the regulation are consumers and also businesses buying other than for resale / re-supply.)

There are currently seven designated gatekeepers, including Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, and Booking.

There are ten categories of CPSs under the DMA, including:

• operating systems;
• video-sharing platform services;
• online intermediation services (e.g., app stores and online marketplaces); and
• online search engines.

For a full list of gatekeepers and CPS categories visit here.

Meta’s commitment example

In December 2025, the Commission acknowledged Meta’s undertaking to offer users in the EU an alternative choice of Facebook and Instagram services that would show them less personalised ads.

Meta acts as gatekeeper for:

• online advertising services – Meta;
• online social networking services – Facebook and Instagram; and
• number-independent interpersonal communication services (N-IICs) – WhatsApp and Messenger.

Interestingly, Meta was undesignated for Facebook Marketplace, an online intermediation service in April 2025, showing that gatekeeper status can change over time.

How does the DMA interact with the Digital Services Act?

The Digital Services Act ((EU) 2022/2065) (DSA) entered into force on 16 November 2022, although most operative provisions did not take effect until 17 February 2024. The DMA works alongside the DSA, which regulates intermediary services such as very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs). Both the DMA (the gatekeepers) and the DSA (the intermediary service providers) have extraterritorial effect.

For the European Commission, together:

‘These acts seek to ensure European citizens can be confident in their safety online and businesses can thrive in the digital world. It is also ensuring e-commerce rules stay up to date in the Digital Decade’.

You can read more about the Digital Services Act in one of our earlier blogs here.

UK perspective: the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act

The UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) gives the CMA powers to designate firms as having strategic market status (SMS) in respect of a digital activity. The first investigation under the regime, focused on Google’s activities in search and search advertising, was launched on 14 January 2025, with the final CMA decision published in the October.

Businesses operating in both the EU and UK need to consider the interplay between the EU’s DMA and DSA, the UK’s DMCCA and Online Safety Act 2023, along with other applicable laws and regulations etc., not least in relation to data and privacy.

We will consider the digital markets regime within the DMCCA in a future blog.

What the DMA means for non-gatekeeper businesses operating in the EU 

The fact that there are currently only seven designated gatekeepers highlights the concentration of corporates active in the EU’s internal digital market. However, while the DMA primarily targets gatekeeper platforms, its provisions are likely to have broader implications for non-gatekeeper businesses by fostering fairer competition, improving access to data, and encouraging compliance with higher standards of data protection. For example:

• Data protection compliance: Gatekeepers are required to obtain GDPR-standard consent for combining data across platform services, which could influence non-gatekeeper businesses to align their practices with these standards to remain competitive and compliant in the EU market.
• Interoperability: Gatekeepers need to ensure interoperability of their services, and this may indirectly benefit non-gatekeeper businesses by reducing barriers to entry and enabling better integration with gatekeeper platforms.
• Data access for business users: Gatekeepers are required to provide access to marketing and advertising data to business users, which could benefit non-gatekeeper businesses by allowing previously restricted insights.

On 8 January 2026, the Commission published its summary and individual responses to its ongoing review of the DMA. We end this blog with an extract from the news article:

‘The contributions generally show respondents’ broad support for the DMA’s objectives and indicate that the regulation has already brought benefits. Some contributions ask to strengthen interoperability, data access and data portability, as well as support for SMEs. Some also ask to expand the DMA’s scope, particularly in relation to AI and cloud services. Gatekeepers on the other hand expressed criticisms such as regarding impact on user experience, as well as concerns about proportionality’.

How we can help

Our experienced team of technology solicitors can support you if you would like to learn more about the digital markets legal landscape.