Why the DMA is Much More than Competition Law (and Should Not be Treated as Such)

By: Agustín Reyna (Chilling Competition)

[Chillin’Competition is publishing a series of posts featuring the views of various experts and stakeholders in relation to the European Commission’s proposal for a Digital Markets Act. We have received several contributions and will also be inviting some experts to ensure a plurality of informed views from a variety of perspectives. For our previous posts on the DMA see here (by Pablo), here (by me), here (by Cani Fernández, originally published in JECLAP), and here (by Tim Lamb, Facebook). Today we bring you some reflections by Agustín Reyna, Director of Legal and Economic Affairs at BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation)]

Following a non-football(istic) exchange via twitter (see here), Alfonso invited me to share some thoughts about why I think it is neither necessary nor desirable for the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to allow for an efficiency defence in the compliance process with the do’s and don’ts included in Articles 5 and 6 of the Commission’s proposal. However, before sharing our reasons, I think it is important to briefly reflect about three elements closely related to this discussion: the nature and objective of the DMA; its legal basis and, its interplay with competition law.

Nature and objectives of the DMA                                                                                                                                               

The DMA’s objective is to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector by laying down a list of obligations and prohibitions that would apply to designated gatekeepers in relation to a list of core platform services (CPSs). While it is possible to argue  – especially amongst those who consider that EU competition law is much more than allocative efficiency (see our thoughts on this issue here) – that the DMA shares the similar objectives as competition law, the way of achieving these objectives is different. Competition law addresses, case-by-case, business conduct that disrupts competition in the internal market by applying the rules laid down in Articles 101 and 102 TEFU whereas the DMA seeks to pre-empt certain practices or impose specific obligations with a view to increasing market contestability, reducing entry barriers, stimulating innovation from rivals and companies who depend on the gatekeeper to reach consumers and, ultimately, to ensure consumers enjoy a healthy digital environment (we wrote more about this here and here). Whether a company designated as a gatekeeper could have breached Article 102 TFEU, or not, is simply irrelevant for the DMA because, by its very essence and nature, the DMA is not competition law…

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