Before the Gatekeeper Sits the Law. The Digital Markets Act's Regulation of Information Control

Abstract

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(2), 405-410 | European Forum Highlight of 26 July 2023 | (Abstract) The Digital Markets Act (DMA) intends to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector through the introduction of obligations for “gatekeepers”. This term represents a legal innovation. No mention of gatekeepers can be retrieved in the case law regarding digital platforms, and the origins of the nomenclature cannot be ascribed to competition law. The concept can, however, be linked to information studies: its adoption in the DMA reflects the centrality of information control for contestability and fairness. A look at the DMA treatment of gatekeepers reveals that, on the one hand, it is coherent with an information-based approach, while on the other it is not devoid of elements typical of a competition law approach. Only the future interpretation of the DMA will show whether the Regulation is an attempt to inform competition policy with notions fit for the data economy or if it is bound to depart from a competition-based reading.

Keywords

• digital markets act
• gatekeepers
• information
• data
• contestability
• fairness