Observed Signal · Sep 6, 2023 · Regulation · Source: Trending Topics · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
EU Names Six DMA Gatekeepers, Spares X and Bing
The European Commission on September 6, 2023 released its official list of 'gatekeepers' under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), naming 22 core platform services across six companies: Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and ByteDance. Significantly, X (formerly Twitter) and Microsoft's Bing were excluded, as were Gmail, Outlook, and Samsung's browser following successful arguments about insufficient user numbers. TikTok is the only Chinese-owned service designated. Google faces the most obligations with the largest number of listed services. The designated platforms must comply from March 2024, with requirements covering data sharing, interoperability with competitors, and fair treatment of business users. The designations apply to platforms exceeding €7.5 billion in annual revenue, €75 billion market cap, and 45 million EU monthly users. Separately, the same page reports Nvidia's announced $12.93 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, confirmed by CEO Jensen Huang.
The EU's designation of Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and ByteDance as DMA gatekeepers is a landmark regulatory event that imposes data-sharing and interoperability obligations, directly reshaping how the dominant digital advertising platforms operate from March 2024.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- The European Commission designated 22 core platform services across six DMA gatekeepers: Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and ByteDance.
- X (formerly Twitter) and Microsoft's Bing were not classified as gatekeepers.
- Google/Alphabet faces the strictest set of obligations with the most designated services (Maps, Play, Shopping, YouTube, Search, Chrome, Android).
- Gatekeepers must comply with DMA rules (data sharing, interoperability, fair dealing) starting March 2024.
- Nvidia announced plans to acquire Hugging Face for $12.93 billion, pending antitrust review.
Connected Companies & Entities
13 Entities mapped“Apple and Microsoft tried to convince the EU Commission that Apple's iMessage should not fall under DMA gatekeeper rules....”
“Apple and Microsoft argued that Microsoft's Bing search engine should not be classified as a gatekeeper....”
“Google, part of Alphabet, has the most services and must face stricter regulations....”
“Meta's Facebook, Instagram, Marketplace, and WhatsApp qualified as gatekeepers....”
“Amazon is designated as a gatekeeper for its marketplace and ads services....”
“Nvidia is acquiring Hugging Face, the platform hosting most open AI models....”
“Samsung's browser was exempted after the company provided sufficient justification....”
“Nvidia is acquiring Hugging Face for $12.93 billion....”
“Salesforce was among the investors in Hugging Face's previous funding round....”
“Qualcomm was among the investors in Hugging Face's previous funding round....”
“AMD was among the investors in Hugging Face's previous funding round....”
“Intel was among the investors in Hugging Face's previous funding round....”
“IBM was among the investors in Hugging Face's previous funding round....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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