EU’s Vestager Speaks Up For The Digital Markets Act

EU executive vice president Margrethe Vestager defended the Digital Markets Act on Thursday, saying it’s up to tech companies to figure out how to live with it.

Critics of the legislation have said it could break encryption for messaging, it makes products less useful for users, and it provides little clarity on how companies can avoid massive fines.

Changes to the law were being hammered out as late as last month, with key aspects of the law concerning the growing crypto and blockchain market being sharply revised.

Some critics suggest the DMA story could mirror that of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation — a privacy law, implemented in 2018, that many users dealt with only in the form of pop-up windows.

Worse still, harsher criticism of the EU’s approach includes questions on the effects of the DMA and accompannying legislation on innovation considering the fast-changing nature of the technologies being regulated. Big Tech companies, including Apple, Google and Amazon, have all spoken out against the law.

Read More: Antitrust Chronicle – Privacy Matters: GDPR & CCPA

Speaking to Axios‘ Ashley Gold and Dan Primack during a Twitter Spaces event, Vestager said it’s up to tech companies to bake DMA requirements into their platforms in a way that’s user-friendly and attractive.

“I think it’s about time we are asked for real consent,” Vestager said. “I think there’s a lot of room for improvements… for a consumer to know what it is I’m consenting to or not.”

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