EU Digital Markets Act obligations apply to gatekeepers

On March 7, 2024, the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) obligations came into full effect for designated 'gatekeeper' platforms. The DMA, which had been in force since November 2022 with a compliance deadline of March 6, 2024, establishes a comprehensive set of rules governing how large digital platforms must operate within the EU. Six companies were designated as gatekeepers — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft — covering 22 core platform services. The regulation introduces specific restrictions on how these platforms can use personal data for advertising purposes, including prohibitions on combining personal data across services without explicit consent and requirements for interoperability and data portability. For the AdTech ecosystem specifically, the DMA introduces significant constraints on how gatekeepers can leverage their data advantages. Platforms are prohibited from using personal data collected from third-party services to target advertising without user consent, limiting the cross-platform data combination strategies that have historically given these companies enormous competitive advantages. Additionally, the DMA mandates price transparency for advertisers and publishers, requiring gatekeepers to provide ad buyers with detailed information about pricing, fees, and the performance of their advertising services — a long-demanded reform that addresses the opacity of walled garden ecosystems. The enforcement of DMA obligations represents one of the most significant regulatory interventions in digital advertising in history. Non-compliance carries penalties of up to 10% of global annual turnover, rising to 20% for repeat infringements, and up to 5% of average daily turnover for ongoing violations. The European Commission retains authority to conduct market investigations and impose structural remedies, including forced divestiture, for systemic non-compliance. This marks a fundamental shift in the regulatory environment for large-scale digital advertising operations in Europe.

The DMA's enforcement creates substantial structural changes in the AdTech landscape, particularly affecting walled garden advertising ecosystems. By restricting the combination of personal data across services without explicit consent, the regulation directly undermines the data moats that have allowed Alphabet (Google), Meta, and Amazon to dominate digital advertising. This levels the competitive playing field to some degree, potentially benefiting independent AdTech companies, demand-side platforms, and publishers who have long struggled to compete against the data advantages of gatekeepers. The consent requirements align with and reinforce GDPR obligations, creating a compounding compliance burden for large platforms. The price transparency mandates are particularly disruptive for programmatic advertising. Gatekeepers must now disclose granular fee and pricing information to advertisers and publishers, reducing the information asymmetry that has historically allowed platforms to capture a disproportionate share of advertising spend. This could accelerate the shift of ad budgets toward more transparent programmatic channels and independent SSPs and DSPs. Advertisers and agencies gain meaningful leverage in negotiations and auditing, which may compress margins for gatekeeper ad products. Beyond immediate compliance costs, the DMA is expected to catalyze broader industry restructuring. Smaller AdTech firms and identity solution providers may benefit as gatekeepers are forced to open data access and interoperability. The regulation also sets a global precedent, with regulators in the UK, US, and other jurisdictions watching closely and potentially adopting similar frameworks. Companies operating in the EU must invest heavily in compliance infrastructure, consent management, and reporting systems, creating opportunities for compliance-focused AdTech vendors while increasing operational costs across the board.