European Commission weighs in against Apple, Alphabet and Meta [Video]

The European Commission has opened non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) into Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari, and Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’.

The Commission said suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA.

In addition, the Commission has launched investigatory steps relating to Apple’s new fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon’s ranking practices on its marketplace.

Article 5(4) of the DMA requires gatekeepers to allow app developers to ‘steer’ consumers to offers outside the gatekeepers’ app stores, free of charge.

The Commission said it is concerned that Alphabet‘s and Apple’s measures may not be fully compliant as they impose various restrictions and limitations.

The Commission is probing Alphabet to determine whether display of Google search resultsmay lead to …