Three years in, industry watchers question the impact of the Digital Markets Act
The EU’s 2023 landmark digital competition reform promised to level the playing field between platform “gatekeepers” and the rest of the tech sphere.
But as the European Commission wraps up its first wave of Digital Markets Act (DMA) enforcement – finalising a major Apple case last week – industry watchers question whether the law has delivered the meaningful reboot of Big Tech that EU lawmakers hoped for.
Last Tuesday, Apple offered new business terms for third-party app developers in the EU on its mobile platforms, including revised fees – zipping up a long-running DMA grievance, related to app distribution, for which the iPhone maker was fined €500 million back in April 2025.
However, Apple’s announcement was met with stony faces from long-standing critics.
