The European Commission announced that it had designated the digital travel website Booking.com a gatekeeper under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, and exempted advertising businesses ‘X ads’ and ‘TikTok ads’ from being gatekeepers. It also announced that it has initiated a market investigation into social media platform X to decide its designation.
What is a gatekeeper?
Businesses with significant impact on the digital markets that serve as an important intermediary between businesses and consumers and meet the defined user and financial thresholds are designated gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). These gatekeepers are subject to certain ex-ante regulations which aim to ensure fair and contestable markets in the Digital sector. So far, six entities (and their corresponding services): Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Bytedance were designated as gatekeepers and subsequently asked to comply with the obligations under the DMA in the EU.
