Europe’s regulators are preparing for legal challenges to landmark legislation designed to tackle Big Tech, as member states have become increasingly concerned over how the new rules will be enforced.
EU politicians hailed the passing of the Digital Markets Act, a law that comes into force next year and is expected to set the global standard for how large online platforms such as Google, Amazon and Facebook must operate.
But a series of doubts have emerged since the act was passed earlier this year, according to EU officials and company executives who have been scrutinising the legislation.
The concerns include big tech groups seeking to undermine the provisions through litigation, member states seeking the spotlight with their national cases outside the remit of the new rules, and the European Commission not hiring enough staff to meet the enormous task of enforcing the laws.
Some of the new obligations in the DMA include a ban on companies ranking their own products on their internet platforms ahead of rivals and a promotion of sharing data with smaller competitors.
Gerard de Graaf, a senior EU official who next month will become the head of the bloc’s new office in Silicon Valley, is among those who expect a legal fight over the measures.
“There will be litigation [from tech companies], no doubt,” de Graaf told reporters recently. “We are prepared for litigation but we would like a constructive discussion with the platforms rather than an adversarial discussion.”
