European Union: Council adopts position on interoperability requirement in DMA

On 25 November 2021, the EU Council adopted its general approach to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The adopted document brings several amendments with regard to interoperability. Under the Commission proposal, companies must provide access under equal conditions and interoperability with the same operating system used by “gatekeepers” to provide ancillary services. The act also allows “gatekeepers” to implement measures to ensure that the ancillary services offered by third parties do not endanger the integrity of the “gatekeepers” services. The Council amended the act to specify that “gatekeepers” should not be prevented from implementing strict and proportionate measures to ensure the security protection of end-users. Furthermore, the adopted document states that access and interoperability conditions should be fair, non-discriminatory and reasonable. The document also specifies that the “gatekeepers” should refrain from actions that could degrade the conditions or quality of access and interoperability given to business users or entities offering ancillary services.