European Union: Commission proposes interoperability requirement in DMA

On 15 December 2020, the European Commission submitted the Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposal to the European Parliament and Council of the European Union. The proposal requires companies classified as “gatekeepers” to enable third parties to interoperate with its services. Currently, companies that have a dual role, as developers of operating systems and manufacturers of devices, can restrict access to some of the functionalities in the products that they offer. The lack of access to interoperate with the gatekeeper’s services may limit the third party’s ability to develop and provide functionalities that are similar to those offered by “gatekeepers” and in consequence, undermine innovation and limit the choices of end-users. The act would therefore require companies to provide access under equal conditions and interoperate with the same operating system used by “gatekeepers” to provide ancillary services, understood as services offered in connection to or with the core platform services.