In a first, the European Commission has designated six technology giants – Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft – as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The commission has, in total, designated 22 core platform services provided by these gatekeepers.
The DMA is aimed at making the European Union region’s markets in the digital sector fairer and more contestable. These six gatekeepers will now have six months to ensure compliance with the DMA obligations for each of their designated core platform services.
What services are covered under gatekeeper designation?
Alphabet: Google Maps, Google Play, Google Shopping, Google Ads, Android, Chrome, YouTube, Google Search
Amazon: Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Ads
Apple: App Store, Safari, iOS
ByteDance: TikTok
Meta: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Meta ads, Meta Marketplace
Microsoft: LinkedIn, Windows PC OS
Probe into Microsoft, Apple submissions
The Commission also said that it has opened four market investigations to further assess Microsoft’s and Apple’s submissions. The companies argued that some of their core platform services do not qualify as gateways. They are:
Microsoft: Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising
Apple: iMessage
However, it is to be noted that these services meet the gatekeeper designation thresholds. According to the rules, any service offered by the company that meets two criteria are gatekeeper designated. These are:

“Under the DMA, these investigations aim to ascertain whether a sufficiently substantiated rebuttal presented by the companies, demonstrates that services in question should not be designated. The investigation should be completed within a maximum of 5 months,” the commission said.
The Commission has also opened a market investigation to further assess whether Apple’s iPadOS should be designated as gatekeeper, despite not meeting the thresholds.
Some respite for Google, Microsoft, Samsung
The Commission has also said that it will not designate Gmail, Outlook.com and Samsung Internet Browser as core platform services despite noting that these services meet the thresholds under the DMA to qualify as a gatekeeper.
This is because Alphabet, Microsoft and Samsung have “provided sufficiently justified arguments showing that these services do not qualify as gateways for the respective core platform services.”
Next steps for designated gatekeepers
Gatekeepers now have six months to comply with the full list of do’s and don’ts under the DMA.
“However, some of the obligations will start applying as of designation, for example, the obligation to inform the Commission of any intended concentration,” it said.
In case a gatekeeper does not comply with the obligations, the Commission can impose fines up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, which can go up to 20% in case of repeated infringement.