EU Digital Markets Act reactions and commentary

Following the EU agreement on the Digital Markets Act last Friday, the IAPP has published two articles outlining the details. In the first article, the IAPP highlight some of the criticism the regulation faces, particularly from tech companies and industry groups. While the second explains the data provisions within the DMA and discusses the do's and don'ts for large online platforms deemed to play a "gatekeeper" role, data in competition policy, data sharing, data portability, targeted advertising and more. "Data provisions have a particularly prominent role in this regulation, given the vital role data has acquired in determining companies' market position in the digital economy." 

Separately, Politico reports that an Apple spokesperson said the company is concerned some provisions "will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users while others will prohibit us from charging for intellectual property in which we invest a great deal." 

Meanwhile, The Verge reports security researchers are concerned that new provisions within EU DMA could damage end-to-end encryption services. Security researchers said requirements that large technology companies interoperate with smaller messaging platforms could lead to weakening or removal of end-to-end encryption on some platforms and open opportunities for vulnerabilities. "If the goal is for all of the messaging systems to treat each other's users exactly the same, then this is a privacy and security nightmare," Stanford Internet Observatory Director Alex Stamos said.