BRUSSELS – In comments to the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposal published today, global tech trade association ITI underscores the importance of crafting tailored, proportionate, and objective rules that reflect the diversity of the online economy and help address the challenges arising from digitalisation.
“ITI shares the DMA’s goal of streamlining rules and proceedings to address emerging challenges in an increasingly digitalised economy, and believes this can be achieved through improved accuracy and balance of the rules,” said Guido Lobrano, ITI’s Vice President and Director General for Europe. “We also agree with the objective of avoiding a patchwork of different rules and obligations within the Single Market. For this reason, it is of utmost importance that the DMA takes steps to prevent potential divergences between different national frameworks across the EU.”
In its comments, ITI highlights that some of the pure-size criteria proposed in the DMA to simplify the designation of gatekeepers should be replaced or accompanied by more significant aspects to evaluate the actual impact of a company on the market. For instance, it is not clear how turnover and market capitalisation are indicators of significant impact on the market. It should also be clear that services not acting as a necessary intermediary for business users to reach end users should be excluded.
ITI recommends that clear procedural guarantees should apply to the process for the designation of gatekeepers, including a right for companies to challenge the application of the DMA’s obligations and to justify business practices on the basis of identified public goals. The obligations should be clearly defined and should be tailored more specifically to the core platform service where they are relevant.
ITI also encourages EU lawmakers to ensure open dialogue with international partners to help foster a convergence that is crucial for the development of an innovative and successful business ecosystem in the European digital economy.