DMA begins

Abstract

The year 2022 of 12 October marks the official birth of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).1 As with the General Data Protection Regulation,2 the European Union sets itself as a forerunner in digital economy rulemaking, attempting to strengthen its global regulatory leadership, through the so-called and well-described Brussels effect.3 The new Regulation is, indeed, complemented by other relevant interventions addressing the role of data and digital intermediaries such as the Data Governance Act,4 the Digital Services Act,5 and the proposal for a Data Act,6 which will shape the European digital policy. Against the emergence of large online platforms, several proposals have been advanced by policymakers around the world to tame digital gatekeepers, including public utilities-style regulations, break-ups, bans on vertical integration, and reforms of competition laws.7 Despite such different approaches, however, the envisaged solutions share the same premise, namely the urgent need for bespoke interventions because of the distrust towards current antitrust rules to face effectively the challenges of the brave new world.