True Romance: Roses are red. Is the DMA through?

Valentine’s Day is almost here, and love is in the air. Or is it?

For the EU’s flagship online antitrust legislation, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the last month has been tough. Designed to create greater opportunities for developers, marketers, and entrepreneurs by breaking up the monopolies enjoyed by companies like Apple and Google, the DMA faced its first real test in January. To cut a long story short, the EU appears to be engaged in a preemptive fence-mending exercise with the U.S. by softening its approach to DMA enforcement. For the DMA’s critics, it looks like the legislation is being defanged. But does this really spell the end? With DMA-style legislation now popping up all over the world, it doesn’t look like it. So, let’s cast our eye back over the first few weeks of 2025 and find out where things are heading.

Kissing Cousins: Europe flatters America

In January, the majority of DMA-related news focused on what the legislation’s future will be like in light of the inauguration of the 47th U.S. president.

As I detailed in my previous blog, with American CEOs falling over themselves to please Donald Trump, concerns have been growing that a protectionist president might punish Europe for targeting U.S. companies with the DMA. Well, these anxieties have turned into reality. As Reuters reported in January, the EU is now “reassessing” its DMA non-compliance probes into Apple, Google, and Meta.

Naturally, the DMA’s supporters are worried about enforcement. Civil society organizations, for instance, are demanding that the EU ensures Apple is still made to adhere to its commitment to interoperability. Elsewhere, a consumer rights organization is calling on Brussels to take action over Meta’s pay-or-consent model—another potential breach of DMA code. And a group of 36 companies and organizations have also petitioned the EU, requesting that it continues to take DMA-enforcement seriously.

While I’m against alarmism, these developments are obviously concerning. Without the determination to enforce the DMA, Europe’s attempt at curtailing Big Tech monopolies will falter. What’s more, the opportunities enjoyed by companies to create apps for iOS and Android, and generate revenue through in-app payments will disappear too. Such capitulation must be avoided.

London Calling: The UK’s DMA Goes Live

In happier news, the UK’s version of the DMA, the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Act (DMCC), went live on New Year’s Day. And it’s already the cause of a few clenched jaws and migraines in Silicon Valley.

On the one hand, Apple is now challenging a DMCC-based lawsuit, made on behalf of 20 million iPhone users, that accuses the company of making a 75-percent markup on its App Store sales. On the other, the UK’s competition authority is now investigating Google’s dominance in Britain’s search engine market. And finally, both Google and Apple are facing antitrust probes under the legislation due to the alleged “closedness” of their mobile ecosystems.?

It all sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? And for the EU’s DMA, it’s undoubtedly good news. For one thing, it makes clear that concerns over Big Tech monopolies aren’t just an EU phenomenon. For another, it should send a clear message to Brussels that the only way with the DMA is forward. Otherwise, Europe will risk being left behind in a trend it started.

Opinion: It’s time gaming embraced the DMA

The most interesting opinion I encountered this month came from Chris Meredith, a senior vice president at the London fintech company Xsolla. Last month, Meredith discussed the DMA on a panel at London’s Pocket Gamer Connects conference. But prior to that, he gave an interview online, where he made this compelling argument:

“One development that the mobile games industry has perhaps undervalued is the potential impact of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. The legislation, aimed at curbing the power of tech giants, could dramatically shift the mobile gaming landscape. By forcing these companies to open their app stores to alternative payment systems, the Digital Markets Act could reduce the hefty fees that developers face, giving them more control over revenue.”

Of course, I’ve made similar observations in these blogs before. But the point here is really the speaker. If finance can recognize the obvious benefits for the mobile gaming market in ending the monopolies enjoyed by the likes of Google and Apple, why can’t the industry itself? Since the DMA went live, gaming developers have been quiet about the DMA’s potential benefits. Indeed, with the prospect of the DMA being watered down within the EU itself, the time has never been more ripe for them to come out swinging for the legislation.

And once again, that’s all from me. I’ll see you again next month.

—Robert.

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