Europe’s Digital Markets Act Will Hamper Competition, Not Unleash It

Today, the European Commission designated six companies as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA): Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (parent company of TikTok), Meta, and Microsoft. To be designated as a “gatekeeper” a company’s active user base must exceed 45 million and it must exceed a market cap of €75 billion (around $80 billion). 

Gatekeepers will be required to comply with new regulations on core business services over the next six months or face stiff penalties.

Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) at Independent Women's Forum, issued the following statement:

“American innovation is the envy of the world and Europe has figured out a regulatory scheme to slow down tech advancements. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a backdoor approach to force companies to prop open the hood of their businesses and services to competitors while limiting market advantages born from their own investments and ingenuity. 

“Conveniently for the EU, the list of companies designated to be “gatekeepers” are largely U.S. companies that generate voluminous value to the global economy. They create platforms for individuals, families, communities, and societies to engage in communication, education, commerce, and information sharing. Women know that the companies the European policymakers consider gatekeepers are in fact gateways to their economic freedom and financial security. 

“The wide array of new restrictions on these businesses will lead to rippling impacts for American small businesses and consumers that reduce the quantity and quality of goods and could lead to higher prices.” 

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