“Messenger and Marketplace Apps Challenge EU’s Gatekeeper Status – Meta Appeals!”
STOCKHOLM/BRUSSELS: Meta on Wednesday complained about the “gatekeeper” designation of its Messenger and Marketplace platforms, the first Big Tech company to challenge new European Union rules on dos and don’ts for online services.
As part of the latest crackdown on Big Tech, the EU in September singled out 22 “gatekeeper” services run by six of the world’s biggest tech companies to be subject to new rules under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, Marketplace and WhatsApp were accepted as gatekeepers under the DMA, which was designed to level the playing field between Big Tech companies and smaller competitors.
“This appeal seeks to clarify specific points of law regarding the designation of Messenger and Marketplace under the DMA,” the spokesperson said.
“It does not change or diminish our strong commitment to comply with the DMA and we will continue to work constructively with the European Commission to prepare for compliance.”
The company said it will not challenge the naming of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Marketplace is a consumer-to-consumer service, so it cannot fall under the definition of an online brokerage service, and Messenger is simply Facebook’s chat function, the company said.
The DMA requires Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Meta and ByteDance’s TikTok to allow third-party apps or app stores on their platforms and make it easier for users to switch from default apps to competitors.
EU competition authorities are investigating whether Microsoft’s Bing and Apple’s iMessage should comply with the new rules.
Microsoft and Google have said they will not challenge the DMA entries, while sources expect TikTok to challenge.
