FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, May 30, 2023

CONTACT: Max von Thun, vonthun@openmarketsinstitute.org

SUBJECT: Clarity urgently needed on the role of third parties in implementation and enforcement of the Digital Markets Act

The Open Markets Institute has led a joint submission to the European Commission on the critical role of third parties in implementation and enforcement of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The letter, signed by 15 leading civil society organizations, highlights the critical role of what are known in the DMA as third parties – including consumers, civil society and SMEs – in ensuring the legislation’s provisions are enforced effectively. Third parties face significant asymmetries of information and resources vis-à-vis the Big Tech platforms the DMA is intended to regulate, and need urgent clarity on how they will fulfil the role assigned to them by the legislation. Among other things, third parties will be instrumental in examining the compliance mechanisms offered by the gatekeepers, and scrutinizing requests for exemptions from the DMA’s requirements.

Despite the DMA formally moving into its implementation phase on May 2nd, little remains known about the role of third parties in this process. The joint letter calls on the Commission to provide urgent clarity on this, to prevent the implementation process from becoming a closed-door dialogue between the EU and Big Tech. Specific recommendations include giving third parties the right to request additional information from the Commission in relation to specific cases, and ensuring gatekeepers engage constructively with third parties’ input. 

The following organisations are signatories to the letter: Open Markets Institute; BEUC; EDRi; European DIGITAL SME Alliance; ARTICLE 19; Balanced Economy Project; Foxglove; Homo Digitalis; Irish Council for Civil Liberties; Privacy International; Lobby Control; Panoptykon Foundation; Coalition for Competitive Digital Markets; Bits of Freedom; Wikimedia Europe.

Read full submission letter here.

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The Open Markets Institute is a team of journalists, researchers, lawyers, economists, and advocates working together to expose and reverse the stranglehold that corporate monopolies have on our country.  Learn more at www.openmarketsinstitute.org.