Big Tech Gatekeepers Submit Updated DMA Compliance Reports to European Commission

Key Takeaways

• DMA Compliance Reports Filed: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft have submitted updated reports detailing how their platforms have adjusted to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act over the past year.
• Consumer Profiling Under Scrutiny: Each company also submitted updated independently audited reports on consumer profiling techniques, addressing how they collect and analyze user data.
• Public Versions to Be Released: The European Commission will publish public versions of the compliance reports and non-confidential summaries of the profiling audits on its DMA webpage.
• Commission Review Begins: Regulators will now analyze the submissions to assess whether the companies’ measures effectively meet DMA obligations.

Deep Dive

The world’s largest technology platforms have submitted updated reports to the European Commission outlining how they are complying with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), the regulation designed to curb the market power of dominant digital platforms.

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft, the companies formally designated as “gatekeepers” under the law in September 2023, each filed updated compliance reports describing the changes they say they have implemented over the past year to meet the regulation’s requirements.

The submissions form part of the DMA’s ongoing monitoring process. The law requires designated gatekeepers to regularly document the steps they are taking to align their platforms with the regulation’s obligations, which are intended to prevent anti-competitive practices and open digital ecosystems to greater competition.

Consumer Profiling Reports Included

Alongside their compliance updates, the companies also submitted updated independently audited reports covering their consumer profiling techniques.

These reports focus on how the companies analyze user data to tailor services, advertising, or recommendations. Under the DMA framework, regulators require transparency around these practices given the role large datasets and cross-platform profiling can play in reinforcing market power.

Public versions of the compliance reports will be made available on the European Commission’s DMA webpage. The Commission will also publish non-confidential summaries of the consumer profiling reports.

Commission Assessment Now Underway

With the submissions now filed, the Commission will begin a detailed assessment of the reports and the measures described within them.

According to the Commission, the review will evaluate whether the changes implemented by the gatekeepers effectively achieve the objectives set out in the DMA’s obligations. The analysis will also draw on feedback from interested third parties and insights gathered through ongoing regulatory dialogue and proceedings related to the regulation.

The process reflects the next stage of the EU’s oversight of large digital platforms, as regulators move beyond the initial designation of gatekeepers and into the ongoing task of evaluating how compliance measures function in practice.

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