European Union regulators said on Tuesday they planned to shift the regulatory focus of the Digital Markets Act, its landmark regulation aimed at curbing the power of big technology companies, to cloud services and artificial intelligence to further promote fair competition based on the results it has achieved in other digital fields.
The European Commission noted in a report released on Tuesday that since its full implementation in May 2023, the bill has improved conditions for businesses and users, such as allowing users to more easily transfer data when switching to rival services and devices, while giving device manufacturers greater interoperability with the operating systems of large technology companies.
Designed for the future: The European Commission said the bill was designed from the outset to be “future-proof” to address emerging challenges. “The Digital Markets Act is designed to be future-proof and adaptable to emerging challenges, such as in the areas of artificial intelligence and cloud computing,” EU competition chief Teresa Ribera stressed in a statement. The report clearly states that the current goal is to make the market for cloud services and artificial intelligence "fairer and more competitive."
While the investigation is ongoing: Regulators are currently investigating whether Amazon and Microsoft's cloud computing services should be designated as "gatekeepers" under the Digital Markets Act. At the same time, they will also review whether certain artificial intelligence services need to be classified as a "virtual assistant" category within "core platform services" for regulation.
Criticism from Apple: The move also triggered a backlash from regulated tech giants. In its response, Apple criticized the report for failing to consider the impact of the Digital Markets Act on user privacy, security and innovation. Apple warned that risks to EU users include increased exposure to harmful content through alternative distribution channels, disruption of seamless experiences, and sharing of highly sensitive information with untrusted third parties.
The European Commission said that although some companies have called for social networks to be interoperable, there is currently no clear market demand and therefore it will not be forced to promote it. Additionally, the regulator confirmed that there are currently no plans to amend the criteria used to appoint "gatekeepers" and the list of "do's and don'ts" for businesses, saying the existing framework still applies.