Today, together with many others, we have co-signed this important letter addressing the urgent need for DMA enforcement.

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The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to restore contestability, interoperability, choice, and fairness to digital markets within the EU. These fundamental principles of a well-functioning digital market have been compromised by the excessive power gatekeepers exert through their control of "core platform services."

The lack of competition in mobile ecosystems is fundamentally structural. Gatekeepers wield immense power due to the security model upon which these devices are built. Traditionally, on operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux, users can install any application they choose without interaction from the operating system gatekeeper, either by the business or the end user. Users can then grant these programs the necessary permissions to perform their desired functions.

While restricting what applications can do, such as limiting their access to certain APIs behind user permissions, is not inherently anti-competitive and can offer legitimate security benefits, its implementation on mobile devices is both self-serving and significantly damaging to competition in its current form.

This anti-competitive behaviour, hindering both browser and Web App competition, has and continues to cost consumers billions of dollars annually.

This is not an exaggeration; if the Web were able to compete fairly and effectively with native app stores, these gatekeepers would not be able to demand a 30% cut of all third-party software. Gatekeepers obtain this cut not through merit but simply by blocking all alternative means of running third-party software, such as Web Apps.

The harm extends beyond these taxes extracted through lock-in. It also damages the ecosystem in four other key ways:

• Increased development costs
• The ability to block competitors or entire categories of apps
• Higher costs and friction associated with market entry, leading to fewer apps
• Deprivation of new mobile device ecosystems from a library of apps, blocking a new competitor to iOS and Android from emerging.

The DMA was passed into law on 1st of November 2022 and its grace period for gatekeepers ended on March 7th 2024, more than 6 months ago. Despite this, gatekeepers (in particular Apple) are still not fully complying with either the letter or spirit of the DMA.

While the DMA has had some significant success in obligating both Apple and Google to introduce reasonably designed browser choice screens, fix this outrageous deceptive pattern, allow game emulators, fairer default choice and have three non-compliance investigations into Apple, there is still much to be done.

The following issues remain unresolved:

Apple:

• Allow browser vendors to keep their existing EU consumers when switching to use their own engine.
• Allowing Browser Vendors and Developers to be able to test their browsers and web software outside the EU.
• Restricting Apple's API contract for browsers down to strictly necessary, proportionate and justified security measures.
• Make clear what the security measures are for third party browsers using their own engine by publishing them in a single up-to-date document.
• Implementing Install Prompts in iOS Safari for Web Apps.
• Allowing Browsers using their own engine to install and manage Web Apps.
• Removing any App Store rule that would prevent third party browsers from competing fairly.
• Make Safari uninstallable.
• Make notarization a fast and automatic process, as on macOS.
• Allow direct browser installation independently from Apple’s app store.
• Allow users to switch to different distribution methods of a native app and allow developers to promote that option to the user.
• Respect the user's choice of default browser in SFSafariViewController.
• Don’t lock Safari to Apple Pay
• Don't break third party browsers for EU residents who are travelling.
• Opt-Into Rights contract should be removed.
• Core Technology Fee should be removed.
• Publish a new more detailed compliance plan.

Google:

• Share WebAPK Minting with third-party browser vendors subject to strictly necessary, proportionate and justified security measures.
• Respect the user's choice of default browser in the Android Google Search App and the Google App.
• Make Chrome uninstallable on Android.

Microsoft:

• Remove edge-links and instead respect the user's choice of default browser in various Microsoft apps.
• Remove and permanently disable various popups, banners in Windows, Bing and Edge that aim to discourage users from switching browser.
• Allow filetype defaults for browsers to be changed more easily.
• Allow users to switch browser in S-Mode, subject to strictly necessary, proportionate and justified security measures.

Meta:

• Respect the user's choice of default browser in apps such as Facebook Messenger and Instagram.

ByteDance:

• Respect the user's choice of default browser in TikTok.

For this reason we are adding our voice to many others asking for a fairer, more competitive app ecosystem. Enforcing the DMA is the quickest way to get there.

We urge MEPs of the ECON and IMCO Committees to hold the gatekeepers accountable for compliance with the DMA.

Read our joint letter here.