Public enforcement by the Commission
The European Commission is the main enforcer of the DMA. Indeed, it has sole jurisdiction to designate undertakings and core platform services as gatekeepers. The DMA also confers multiple enforcement powers on the Commission including investigatory powers, and the ability to require remedies or to impose penalties to ensure compliance.
Information gathering
Consistent with the Commission’s power under competition law, the Commission has the ability to send request for information and carry out inspections and interviews:
Requests for information
- power to request, from any natural or legal person, information which it considers necessary for the investigation (this expressly includes data and algorithms) and to fix deadlines and sanctions for undertakings which provide incomplete, incorrect or misleading responses.
Inspections and interviews
- power to examine and take copies of documents, seal premises, ask for oral explanations on the spot and conduct voluntary interviews. The Commission is expressly allowed to request access to documents, IT systems, algorithms, data-handling and business practices.
Enforcement powers
- Interim measures
- Settlement
- Behavioural remedies to impose compliance with obligations
- Structural remedies for recidivism
- No infringement decisions
- Fines
Fines and penalties
Substantive breaches
- The Commission may impose fines of up to 10% of the gatekeeper’s annual worldwide turnover for the first infringement (art. 30.1), and up to 20% for repeated infringements (art. 30.2).
Procedural breaches (e.g. failure to comply with information requests)
- Fines will amount up to 1% of total worldwide turnover of the gatekeeper (art. 30.3).
Periodic payments to compel compliance
- Fines amounting up to 5% of average daily worldwide turnover of the gatekeeper can also be imposed for failure to comply with information requests, remedies for systematic infringements, inspections, interim measures, commitments and fines (art. 31).
More content on the DMA Hub
Digital Markets Act Hub
The EU’s Digital Markets Act creates multiple digital rights (and obligations). Who is or will be affected by this next frontier of digital platform regulation in Europe? You will find all you need to know on our one-stop-shop dedicated to the DMA.
Scope: Designation of a gatekeeper
The DMA’s criteria for designating “gatekeepers” stipulate which companies and “core platform services” must comply with the DMA’s obligations. There are, however, a number of key questions concerning the DMA’s jurisdiction. Read further to see the breakdown of the DMA’s key criteria for gatekeeper designation.
Duties: Obligations under DMA
The DMA sets out a host of obligations for designated gatekeepers. These can be categorised according to the following aims of the DMA, namely to ensure fair conditions of use; prevent self-preferencing / leveraging; protect digital rights and improve access to data; promote interoperability rights in relation to digital platforms; and enhance compliance with digital platform regulation through reporting.
Enforcement: Third party roles
The DMA sets out a host of obligations for designated gatekeepers. These can be categorised according to the aims of the DMA, including to ensure fair conditions of use; to prevent self-preferencing / leveraging; and to protect digital rights and improve access to data, among others.
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DMA Hub
DMA Hub
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Designation of a gatekeeper
Designation of a gatekeeper
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Obligations under DMA
Obligations under DMA
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Enforcement by private third parties
Enforcement by private third parties
