The Digital Market Act - What is it and how will it impact digital marketers

The accessibility granted to us via the internet and its supported technologies means that everyone from professional e-commerce managers to data scientists to small business owners feel the day-to-day push & pull of a changing digital landscape. From the introduction of commercially available AI tools like ChatGPT to the machine learning capabilities of Google’s advertising technology and even the hyper-accurate algorithms of social media sites such as YouTube & TikTok, no one is spared when it comes to changing and adapting to digital tools. There is no denying the power of technology and the grip that it has over our attention spans. The last three decades have changed the way in which we interact with the world on every possible level. The world-wide-web used to be a simple binary set of codes and pixels that allowed people to perform simple tasks in the late 90s but a decade into the 21st century, some scholars defined the web as a "techno-social system that enhances human cognition toward communication and cooperation" (Fuchs et al., 2010). There is money to be made online and lots of it, and where there is opportunity for profit, there is also opportunity for exploitation. People are learning more and more about the invasive nature of some digital businesses and they are starting to value their privacy, but how do you totally disconnect from a digital world without suffering the consequences of being left behind socially or professionally? The short answer is; that you can’t. On an individual level, there isn’t much anyone can do to stop tech giants from collecting, storing and processing your data. This is where the European Union has stepped in, to push through a landmark piece of legislation (the first of its kind) to regulate digital platforms and to address concerns related to their market dominance, data mining & other problematic practices.

The Digital Markets Act is a regulatory law put forward by the European Union in order to monitor big tech companies whom they have labelled “gatekeepers”. Introduced in December 2020, the DMA aims to address concerns about the growing power and influence of tech giants and their impact on competition, innovation, and consumer choice. 

Its main objective is to establish rules and regulations to help govern digital gatekeepers (online platforms with a lot of influence and power in the marketplace). These gatekeepers often have access to significant user bases, priceless data, and vital digital services, which provides them the power to stifle competition and hurt smaller competitors. One of the main features of the DMA is its definition of who is and who isn’t a “gatekeeper” based on a set of predetermined criteria. In addition to the act defining a “gatekeeper” it further goes on to specify the “do’s” and “don’ts” for “gatekeepers” moving forward.

All in all, the Digital Market Act is a big step in the right direction towards solving the problems caused by digital gatekeepers and guaranteeing a more inventive and competitive digital marketing landscape. The Digital Market Act seeks to protect consumer choice, encourage innovation in the digital economy, and advance fair competition by laying out explicit guidelines and requirements for major online platforms.

While the DMA stands to benefit end consumers greatly owing to its privacy regulation demands, the DMA could have a negative impact on investment, innovation, and the general competitiveness of European companies in the global digital market space. This will therefore have a negative impact on stakeholders, including digital marketers. 

To simplify it; Any large-scale online platform with significant market share that acts as an intermediary between corporations and consumers can be defined as a digital “gatekeeper” according to the Digital Markets Act. These gatekeepers can affect competition and innovation in the market since they often have significant control over users, data, and crucial digital service access. A few examples of digital “gatekeepers” as as follows:

The Do’s - Moving forward gatekeepers will have to:

The Don'ts - Moving forward gatekeepers will not be allowed to:

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The DMA showcases an immense step forward when it comes to regulating the online space which has thus far been difficult to manage. This may open up the possibility for more regulations to be put in place which may help to protect vulnerable users and to prevent instances of cyberbullying or to protect one’s copyrights etc. in the future. The beauty of the digital world is that it is forever changing for better or for worse and as our lives continue to revolve around technology, we will continue to adapt no matter the initial sense of resistance for change.