The European Union is to adopt landmark new anti-trust regulations designed to curtail the dominance of some of the world’s biggest tech companies.
The Digital Markets Act sets a new rulebook for the Big Tech giants with Google, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)., Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB)., Apple and Microsoft Corp. among the companies falling under its scope after an agreement by the European Parliament with member states on Thursday.
The rules are expected to come into force as early as October and apply to so-called “gatekeeper” companies with a market value of at least €75bn.
The legislation is meant to curb tech giants from abusing their market position to harm smaller competitors.
Firms will be prohibited from giving preference to their own services over others. It follows concerns that software companies can set their software as the default option when a user sets up a device.
Restrictions will also be imposed on combining personal data from different sources in addition to mandates to allow users to install apps from third-party platforms.
Gatekeepers that violate the rules could face potential fines of up to 10% of their global revenue, increasing to 20% for repeat offenders.