opinion] Together with the AI Act, the DMA is likely to be the EU’s most important piece of tech legislation. After just two weeks, we can already see where we benefit as users – although not everything is rosy yet
Big updates are the order of the day. Whether WhatsApp, Windows, iOS or Google Search: they have all rolled out far-reaching changes in recent days. It is noticeable that many of the changes only appear in Europe
The reason for this is easy to find and has three letters: “DMA”. This is the Digital Markets Act, an EU competition law. The law was passed at the end of 2022 and its regulations finally came into force on March 7
After just two weeks, it is already clear that the law is having an impact. In fact, all the changes to the software mentioned above benefit users. At the same time, however, it is noticeable that some things are still not quite working as planned – partly because some of the companies affected are reluctant to comply with the requirements.
DMA: Regulation is having an impact and we are benefiting
With its introduction, the DMA has already recorded a number of success stories. Perhaps the most relevant example for PC gamers: On Windows, you can now finally uninstall pre-installed Microsoft software such as Edge without detours and really set up yourself which apps you want to use and where.
Until now, Windows has often bypassed the default browser and search engine and used the in-house solutions Edge and Bing instead. There was hardly any added value for end users, which is why this approach was often seen as unwanted advertising by the community.
To stay with the default browser: Switching from the default browser is now also easier on the iPhone. Previously, Safari was set as the default browser during initial setup without any ifs or buts. Since iOS 17.4, you have the choice of several browsers when setting up the phone.
The result: smaller browsers with a focus on security and privacy are gaining users, as the companies behind them share on social media.
Why did Apple and Google make it hard to switch default browsers for so many years?
Because it’s a powerful way to block competitors.
Just look at what happened to Brave installs on iPhone in the EU when Apple rolled out a new default browser choice screen on March 6th: pic.twitter.com/Wefz4mCHGi
– Brave Software (@brave) March 12, 2024
DMA: Apple and Google are playing coy
But not everything is rosy yet. WhatsApp, for example, is complying with the requirement to display messages from other messenger services in future – but in practice, Signal, Telegram and the like are not using the function for the time being due to data protection concerns. The function might just as well not exist for end users
In addition, it is clear that not every company is really willing to follow the spirit of the DMA – and is interpreting the law as narrowly as possible, even testing the limits. Android, for example, still does not offer the required option to simply uninstall pre-installed applications, as the Bundesbank’s consumer advice center has criticized.
The strongest resistance to the requirements of the DMA, however, comes from Apple. Although efforts are also being made in Cupertino to comply with the law – for example when sideloading apps. However, some options are still missing today: the complete uninstallation of Safari, for example, or alternatives to Apple’s Maps app.
Spotify complains that Apple is holding back its own DMA update and after Epic CEO Tim Sweeney criticizes Apple’s approach to the DMA, the company’s developer account on iOS is first blocked and then unblocked shortly afterwards after the EU reports to Apple.
The DMA must not be the end
What does all this mean for us now? Firstly – so far the good news – that the thumbscrews applied by the EU are working. The limits imposed by politicians on the dominant platforms are therefore not a paper tiger – even if it remains to be seen whether the DMA really is the digital can opener that we had hoped for.
It’s not just smaller providers who benefit from this, but also us as end users. The risk of being trapped in a “walled garden” is significantly reduced by the DMA.
Walled gardens are ecosystems that lure us in with particularly high levels of convenience and then take measures to make it difficult for us to switch to another provider – a strategy that each of the companies affected by the DMA has adopted, albeit to varying degrees.
By dismantling these walled gardens, the inhibition threshold to turn our backs on providers if they do not act in the interests of the end user is also falling.
So far, so good. But part of the truth is also: The DMA can only be a first step in the right direction. On the one hand, because it is very vague in many parts, which is why experts fear a flood of lawsuits and lengthy proceedings.
On the other hand, because the DMA is a compromise, is very short-sighted in many aspects and is also interpreted rather cautiously by the EU (Microsoft’s Edge browser or Apple’s iMessage, for example, are excluded).
In addition, the fast-moving nature of the internet means that it is to be feared that the DMA will quickly outlive itself or that companies will find ways to circumvent the law with loopholes.
Two things are therefore particularly important: recognizing that a law like the DMA is very important and is not a wasted effort – and at the same time staying on the ball and making improvements where the DMA is not having the desired effect. Because the first two weeks have already shown that end users need a basic digital law like the DMA.
