On 23.03.2023 the European Commission adopted a decision to establish a High-Level Group on the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The DMA is a piece of the new EU digital regulatory framework. The DMA specifically applies to online platforms designated as ‘gatekeepers' which are large digital platforms acting as important gateways between business users and consumers. To address these issues, the DMA defines a series of obligations they will need to respect, including prohibiting gatekeepers from engaging in certain behaviour, such as not treating more favourably, in ranking and related indexing and crawling, services and products offered by the gatekeeper itself than similar services or products of a third party, not processing  for the purpose of providing online advertising services, personal data of end users using services of third parties that make use of core platform services of the gatekeeper, not requiring business users or end users to subscribe, or register with, any further core platform services, etc. DMA entered into force on 1 November 2022 and will apply from 2 May 2023.

In line with the requirements in article 40 of the DMA, this group will be composed of 30 representatives nominated from the Body of the European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and European Data Protection Board, the European Competition Network (ECN), the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC Network), and the European Regulatory Group of Audiovisual Media Regulators (ERGA).

This High-Level Group may provide the Commission with advice and expertise to ensure that the DMA and other sectoral regulations applicable to gatekeepers are implemented in a coherent and complementary manner. It may also provide expertise in market investigations into emerging services and practices, to help ensure that the DMA is future-proof. 

The President of the HCC, Mr. Ioannis Lianos was selected along with 5 other Heads of Competition Authorities (from the 27 Member States) to participate in the High-Level Group representing the European Competition Network. The selection of the President of HCC to the High Level Group is a particularly honourable development, which signals the recognition of the HCC, which, notably over the last three years, has shown significant work on digital economy (see, inter alia, e-commerce, Fintech sector inquiries), but also of the work of the President of the HCC in the regulation of competition in the digital economy, thus strengthening the international presence and role of the HCC in the formulation of competition policies at the European and international levels.

More information about the HCC’s international cooperation activities is provided on its dedicated webpage.