LogInXsolla's Legal Project Manager, Valentina Chemodanova, explained what the Digital Markets Act could mean for the tech giants as well as for the market in general.
According to the EU's new legislation, Apple would be forced to allow users access to third-party app stores giving developers the opportunity to use the App Store without the mandatory use of Apple’s payment systems. The new law is a part of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which is close to being signed into law.
We asked Xsolla's Legal Project Manager, Valentina Chemodanova, what the news could mean for the market as well as how it will influence the developers.
"The new Digital Markets Act seeks to curb the dominance of large platforms acting as 'gatekeepers' which are defined by factors including a market value of more than €75 billion, or about $83 billion (including Alphabet, the owner of Google and YouTube, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and possibly Booking and Alibaba) through a number of hefty sanctions.
The law will force companies to allow users to install apps from third-party platforms, prohibit the combining of personal data from different sources, and we'll see new limits for offering targeted ads without consent. It is also expected to force platforms to open up their stores to third-party payment options instead of forcing users to use in-store payment systems exclusively."
Valentina Chemodanova, Legal Project Manager at Xsolla
The DMA will target many of the services provided by tech giants forcing them to open up to other businesses. As the European Commission claims, companies should not limit their users in terms of choosing digital stores and sources for downloading applications.
"It seems that Apple and its fellow market giants are inevitably losing the status of 'untouchables'. Not just competitors, but countries are seriously opposing monopolists. The European Commission statement sounds convincing and almost nothing will prevent them from getting the job done, finalizing the legal text, and putting it into effect. Apple's attempt to defend itself by saying that new requirements adversely affect the privacy of applications sounds unconvincing and out of place. With a high probability, under the pressure of applicable legislation and significant fines (up to 20% of total worldwide turnover), 'gatekeepers' will comply with the new rules.
However, the developers have a very good reason to make plans to add third-party payment methods in giant stores. Although, it can be expected that Apple and others will try to look for workarounds, requiring inadequate improvements and excessive technical measures as a condition for adding third-party means of payment, as happened in the 'Netherlands case'."
Valentina Chemodanova, Legal Project Manager at Xsolla
The European Parliament has not yet voted on the adoption of the bill, however, this process will most likely go without any problems. The DMA may come into force as early as October 2022. Following that, the countries within the European Union will be able to choose how exactly to interpret the DMA in their national legislation.
"After the legal text is finalized at a technical level and checked by lawyer-linguists, it will need to be approved by both EU Parliament and Council. Once this process is completed, it will come into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal and the rules will apply six months after."
Valentina Chemodanova, Legal Project Manager at Xsolla
You can learn more about Xsolla here.
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