Sisyphus, The Commission, And The Digital Markets Act

This paper makes recommendations to ensure that the implementation DMA does not end up being a Sisyphean task, laborious and futile. I believe that the European Commission should start by clarifying some of the obligations of the DMA on the basis of the overarching objectives (contestability and fairness) and principles (effectiveness and proportionality). Then, the Commission should orchestrate an “ecosystems of oversight and enforcement” by being participatory and adaptative while relying on the benefits of digital technologies. Ultimately, the success of the DMA will be measured by the opportunities created to new innovators and whether the European digital markets would be “shaken” rather than ossified in the years to come.

By Alexandre de Streel^[1]

We all remember the destiny of Sisyphus who, due to hubris, was forced to perform an endless and useless task. In this short paper, I do not want to claim that the Digital Market Act (“DMA”)^[2] is an act of hubris; but I do want to show that the Commission must ensure that the implementation of the new law doesn’t end up being both endless and useless. To prevent such an unfortunate outcome, the Commission should start by clarifying a number of the obligations contained in the DMA and then enforcing them in an agile way.

I. CLARIFYING THE OBLIGATIONS

A. The Need for Clarification and Interpretation

The DMA is based on detailed rules instead of broad standards to facilitate implementation and