Big techs are being accused of not complying enough with the European Union's Digital Markets Act despite the law's rapidly nearing deadline.
An open letter signed by 24 companies called out Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Google's owner Alphabet, and TikTok parent company ByteDance for their continued monopoly of the European market.
EU Competitors Demand 'Swift Progress' from Big Techs
According to the letter, the "gatekeeper" companies have not actively engaged with its competitors enough and kept their customers "in the dark" from the approaching compliance deadline.
The DMA designated the six companies and 22 core platform services as "gatekeepers" last September for their "strong" economic and intermediation position over a large user base.
This means that the Big Techs gain an "undue advantage" over its competitors by "self-preferencing" their services, hindering other businesses to grow.
The Big Techs are given six months to comply with the EU's regulation. The deadline is set on March 7, only seven weeks as of writing.
None of the accused "gatekeepers" have yet commented on the open letter.
What is the Digital Markets Act?
Signed in September 2022 and implemented in May 2023, the DMA is the EU's effort to "ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector."
The DMA is the region's biggest step yet in cracking down on the Big Techs that have controlled the majority of its market since the dawn of the modern internet.
EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said the presence of the DMA will provide a "clear enforceable legal framework" for the region and
The Union is investigating Apple's iMessage and Microsoft search engine, Bing, for not allowing its users access to rival services.
The Big Techs have earlier denied the designation of "gatekeeper" for Bing and iMessage, arguing that the platforms are not popular enough to warrant the classification.
