PARIS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Monday it had designated hotel reservation website Booking.com as a “gatekeeper”, which subjects it to strict EU obligations, and has opened an investigation to further determine the regulatory status of social media network X.
Online advertising services X Ads and TikTok Ads as such did not qualify as gatekeepers under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU added.
The Commission said in March that Elon Musk’s X, TikTok owner ByteDance and Booking.com may meet EU criteria subjecting them to tough tech rules as so-called gatekeepers.
On Monday it said Booking.com fell under the DMA – in line with the company’s own view – while it had opened a market investigation to further assess the rebuttal lodged by X, opposing the gatekeeper status.
“We have been working with the European Commission since the beginning, in anticipation of today’s decision,” a Booking.com spokesperson said via email
“We are currently reviewing the designation…
