Microsoft would be about to get away with it in Europe. The technology giant could get a pardon from the European Commission after determining that Bing is not dominant enough, so it would be outside the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The decision would also benefit the Edge browser and Microsoft’s advertising services.
According to a report from BloombergCommission officials consider that Bing would not be considered a gatekeeper (gatekeeper). This name applies to large technology companies that have a capitalization of more than 75,000 million euros and offer web services with a monthly traffic of 45,000 million users.
After a five-month investigation, the European Commission is about to confirm that Bing, Edge and advertising services are not gatekeepers. This means that Microsoft would not be required to comply with DMA obligations. The decision will be more than welcomed by those from Redmond, who claimed a few months ago that if the law were applied, their search engine would lose more ground to Google.
Yes ok Bing is one of the most important services for Microsoft, its market share barely exceeds 3%. The company’s efforts to close the gap with Google have had no effect. The arrival of artificial intelligence was not enough and the search engine gained a few tenths during 2023.
Another Microsoft service that will not be subject to DMA is Edge. In accordance with figures Statcounter, the browser maintains 4.96% of the market, well below Safari and Chrome. Along with Bing, Edge is another pillar in the technology giant’s artificial intelligence strategy.
What is the Digital Markets Law and how does it affect Microsoft and other companies?
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a set of European Union rules that aims to Ensure fair competition on digital platforms.
The DMA applies to online platforms that have more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU and that enjoy a significant position of market power. Companies that meet these requirements and also have a market capitalization that reaches 75 billion euros are considered gatekeepers.
Among the obligations that companies must comply with are the interoperability of messaging services. With this, people will be able to send and receive messages regardless of the application that one or the other uses. This means that you will be able to send a WhatsApp message to Messenger and other messaging clients, except iMessage.
Another important point is the sideloading, since the DMA establishes that companies like Apple will not be able to limit the distribution of applications through the App Store. The iOS users will have the option to download and install apps from third-party sources, as happens on Android. Application stores, such as the App Store and Play Store, will also not be able to block alternative payment methods.
The Digital Markets Law will prohibit dominant companies from favoring their own services or products over those of their competitors. Big tech companies will need to allow third parties to interact with their services, offer access to the data collected, and ensure that small businesses can offer their products to customers outside of other platforms.
The DMA will come into force in March 2024so the Big Tech They must implement changes before that date.