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The European Commission Identifies Booking as a Gatekeeper and Opens a Market Investigation Against to X
On May 13, 2024, the European Commission (“The Commission”) under the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) determined Booking as a gatekeeper for the online brokerage service Booking.com and decided not to determine X Ads and TikTok Ads. Concurrently, the Commission initiated a market investigation to further assess the rebuttal report submitted in relation to the online social networking service X.
On March 1, 2024, on the basis of Booking's self-assessment that it fulfilled the relevant thresholds, the Commission concluded that this essential platform service constitutes an important gateway between businesses and consumers.
At the same time, the Commission started a market investigation to further assess the objection submitted on March 1, 2024 concerning X's online social networking service. This objection argues that even assuming X meets the thresholds, X does not constitute a significant gateway between businesses and consumers. The investigation should be concluded in five months.
Most recently, the Commission received the notification and request for objection of TikTok Ads, ByteDance's online advertising service, on March 1, 2024. The Commission determined that TikTok Ads satisfies the quantitative determination thresholds under the DMA, but that this core platform service does not constitute a significant gateway.
Following its designation;
- Booking has six months to ensure compliance with the relevant obligations under the DMA, providing greater choice and freedom for end users and fair access for business users. Booking will submit a detailed compliance report within six months explaining how it has complied with each DMA obligation.
- If a gatekeeper fails to comply with the obligations defined by the DMA, the Commission may impose a fine of up to 10% of the company's total worldwide turnover, or up to 20% for repeated violations
You can find further information here.
Kind regards,
Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law