DMA enforcement: Trends and gaps in the first year of application 

Starting from 7 March, the gatekeepers designated by the European Commission under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are called to comply with the obligations under this new regulatory framework. Both business users and end users should be able to see and profit from tangible change in gatekeepers’ practices. Questions around how to enforce the DMA are joined by new ones, namely: is it working? How can compliance with the rules be assessed? Is the regulatory dialogue leading to good results? What does the evidence say about enforcement? What are the main procedural challenges? 

Regulators and gatekeepers will continue to face novel issues in this crucial first year of enforcement. They need to interpret and apply the DMA in a way that guarantees its full potential and leads to the achievement of its main goals, amidst ongoing debate concerning which goals should prevail and guide enforcement. And now that gatekeepers are responding (or not), regulators have more to assess and, eventually, to impose. The simple fact that less than a month from ‘compliance day’ the European Commission decided to investigate Apple, Google and Meta over failing to follow new digital rules shows that successful enforcement is not an easy task, and far from granted.

Building on a number of themes explored last year, this year’s call for papers seeks to gather research that could help regulators in this crucial enforcement phase, as well as research that provides a better understanding of the legal, economic, and technical challenges and opportunities linked to current compliance moves. Once again, the goal is to provide a space for independent scholars and regulators to have an open dialogue and discuss relevant research.

The Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance, the Hertie School Centre for Digital Governance, the University of Namur and the University of Trento, with the support of the free expression organization ARTICLE 19, are excited to be organising our second annual DMA enforcement symposium. 

 This year’s edition, to take place on 21 and 22 November, will see invited scholars present and discuss their research with high-level European Commission officials and national competition authorities dealing with the enforcement of the DMA. We believe that facilitating a direct and ongoing dialogue between scholars and regulators is a win-win situation and we’re honoured to once again be able to offer this opportunity. The agenda for the event will be circulated among participants by the beginning of November.