The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) issued the following statement in light of the European Commission’s announcement that it is launching its first preliminary investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The following can be attributed to Senior Vice President and Head of CCIA Europe, Daniel Friedlaender:
“Launching the first preliminary investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) just days after the compliance deadline throws a wrench into the idea of companies and the European Commission working together to implement the DMA successfully.”
“The timing of these announcements, while the DMA compliance workshops are still ongoing, makes it look like the Commission could be jumping the gun. Possible outcomes aside, this move risks confirming industry fears that the DMA compliance process might end up being politicised.”
“The Commission’s own DMA compliance team spent last week reiterating the ‘unprecedented cooperation’ required and the need to take time assessing each company’s compliance solutions and the wide-ranging changes made to their services. Yet, these preliminary investigations launched today could undermine that process.”
“DMA compliance started less than three weeks ago, on 7 March. Only last week, Commission officials stressed the need to see and study data on DMA impacts. As we all know, data takes time to collect. What we see now, however, sends a worrying signal that the EU might rush into investigations without knowing what they’re investigating. This type of approach should worry companies of all sizes.”
“Last week’s DMA workshops highlighted many areas of uncertainty linked to DMA implementation, where different sectors and groups of access seekers expressed diametrically opposed requests that won’t be easily solved. Many risks and opportunities are still being reviewed, so launching investigations seems premature.”
“Instead of resorting to punitive measures, we hope these probes will be another chance for companies committed to DMA compliance to have an open dialogue with the Commission – working together to achieve fair and contestable digital markets. That’s the kind of collaborative environment the DMA should foster.”