Antitrust and regulation of digital platforms

This research project addresses the impact of the recent antitrust investigations and sector regulation affecting digital platforms. A specific area of research concerns the Digital Markets Act (DMA), targeting large online platforms (the so-called “gatekeepers”), which entered into force in May 2023.

On March 8th 2024, the first designated gatekeepers submitted to the European Commission a report on the status of implementation of the DMA obligations. The European Commission has recently sanctioned Apple and Meta for a lack of compliance with the DMA obligations. The Commission is expected to publish a report about the status of DMA enforcement by the end of 2026.

Besides the DMA, large online platforms have been subject to antitrust investigations: the recent rulings of the District Court of Columbia in US Department of Justice v. Google and recent judgments of the EU Courts in Google Shopping, Google Android and Google Ad Sense, and the EU Commission decision in the Apple Store case well represent this trend.

The overall question investigated under this research project is the future impact of the ongoing antitrust and DMA investigations on competitive dynamics in digital markets.

This project receives funding from the Market Donors of the Centre for a Digital Society.