As global policymakers continue to debate the future of digital competition policy, one trend has become increasingly clear: an appetite for regulatory frameworks modeled after the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is no longer confined to EU Member States. Jurisdictions around the world are now considering similar ex-ante regulatory frameworks, raising significant threats to innovation, trade, and small business growth. On January 14th, ACT | The App Association hosted “Brazil on the Brink: DMA is at the Door” to examine how Brazilian regulators are actively exploring DMA-style public utility frameworks.

Brazil Contemplates DMA

While DMA implementation continues to unfold in Europe, Brazil has emerged as one of the latest jurisdictions to consider a similar approach to regulating its digital economy. In late 2025, Brazil’s National Congress introduced Bill No. 4.675/2025, which would amend the country’s 2011 Competition Law to establish a parallel antitrust regulatory framework for digital platforms. The proposal closely mirrors the structure and ex-ante philosophy of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, seeking to impose regulatory obligations before competitive harms have materialized. Although lawmakers opted not to fast-track the legislation, it has since been referred to a special committee, which will have a limited window to recommend whether the legislation should move forward for consideration or not. This process places Brazil at a critical junction, one with implications not only for its domestic ecosystem but also for global trade, cross-border digital services, and future U.S.-Brazil economic engagement.

Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, joined the webinar as a keynote speaker. Chairman Fitzgerald highlighted the global trend to adopt ex-ante style regulations in Korea, Japan, Australia, and more. He explained that this trend will hurt digital innovation:

“The takeaways are clear: the U.S innovates, China replicates, and Europe regulates. The DMA is failing Europe. The EU’s regulatory stance toward digital companies hampers innovation. As a result, consumers are left with fewer choices and less innovative products. Small and medium-sized businesses across Europe are faced with lower traffic and sales. Startup investment has chilled and has left Europe on a weaker footing. Unfortunately, some jurisdictions are not hearing these warnings loud enough.”

Lessons from the Startup Frontlines

Our conversation opened with some scene-setting remarks from ACT General Counsel Graham Dufault, who outlined the structure of the DMA and why it remains a central concern for ACT members.

“At its core, DMA is a public-utility style framework that places sweeping obligations on designated online marketplaces and platforms. These include prohibitions on basic platform management functions and must-carry requirements that significantly limit the ability of marketplaces to curate, secure, and improve their services.”

Graham explains that for many ACT members, who employ fewer than 50 team members, these curated environments are not barriers to competition, but rather, they provide the tools to grow their operations. With limited funds for advertising, legal advising, and miscellaneous consulting costs, small businesses rely on platform services like removing bad actors (curation), preventing fraud (security), and protecting developer intellectual property (IP). Offloading these business operations to curated environments allows small developers to scale without massive upfront compliance costs. Mitchel Volkering, founder of Vaic.at and an ACT member company based in the Netherlands, joined and made these concerns real:

“Eliminating or restricting the ability [for platforms] to regulate completely undermines my marketability. I have created a foundational trust between users of my application through a trusted online marketplace. Removing these functions would distort the value that millions of businesses like mine rely on.”

Mitchel, as both a Brazilian and Dutch citizen, offered a unique perspective on what DMA compliance and implementation look like in practice:

“From the outside, DMA sounds theoretical,” he explained. “But once it’s implemented, it affects everyday decisions from how we are deploying or building our products to how updates are released, and how quickly developers can innovate.”

Mitchel described how DMA’s layered obligations disrupt the day-to-day operation of online marketplaces. Requirements that prohibit self-preferencing while simultaneously mandating open access to sensitive operating system and device features create a framework that is fundamentally at odds with how secure, managed digital ecosystems function.

“It creates a system where platforms are forced to open sensitive features in ways that were never designed for that purpose … that uncertainty not just for platforms, but for the small businesses building on them.”

One of the most significant consequences discussed was the growing delay in access to new technologies for developers operating under DMA provisions. As Mitchel described:

“When new tools are announced globally, developers expect to start building immediately … but in Europe, we’re increasingly seeing delays because companies must first redesign products to comply with regulatory requirements.”

These delays, he explained, are not abstract. They directly translate to missed opportunities, slower market entry, and competitive disadvantages to developers operating in non-DMA jurisdictions.

“By the time features arrive, the moment has often passed … that is real lost revenue for small businesses.”

ACT’s EU/UK/US AI survey findings show that such delays can cost small developers between $109,000 to $375,000 per year.

Lastly, the conversation addressed key unintended consequences for small developers. While certain DMA provisions are framed as beneficial to developers, in reality, they have produced outcomes that single out small businesses and undermine their prospects compared to their larger competitors. One example discussed was Article 5(4), which restructures app store fee models. Mitchel explained that while the provision appears to target large companies, it has instead eliminated progressive fee structures that previously benefited most small developers.

“Less than 1 percent of apps used to pay the highest commission rates,” he said. “Now the system is moving toward flatter, more regressive fees that hit smaller developers harder.”

This shift, he warned, risks raising costs for companies that offer real-world goods and services, exactly the kinds of businesses policymakers often say they want to support. Article 5(4) has essentially illegalized this progressive fee structure, leaving only more regressive fee structures that will charge smaller companies more, including the vast majority of apps, which facilitate “real-world” goods and services, rather than “digital-only.”

 Throughout the discussion, panelists emphasized that Brazil’s debate carries important lessons for global policymakers, but also here at home. As Graham explained, “American policymakers and around the world are wondering what lessons can be learned here. Once these frameworks are adopted, they’re very difficult to unwind. That’s why it’s so important for policymakers to understand not just the intent of these laws, but their real-world effects.”

As DMA-style regulation spreads, U.S. officials face growing pressure to respond through trade engagement, regulatory cooperation, and competition policy grounded in evidence rather than theory. “This is no longer just a European issue,” Graham concluded. “It’s a global one, and the decisions made today will shape the digital economy for years to come.”

Looking Ahead

As more jurisdictions consider DMA-like proposals, ACT remains committed to elevating the voices of small business innovators who are directly affected by these policies.

Brazil’s decision will serve as a critical test case, not only for Latin America but also for how governments worldwide approach digital competition, innovation, and market access.

ACT will continue working with policymakers and developers around the globe to promote competition policy that supports innovation, preserves flexibility, and ensures that the global digital ecosystem continues to work for small businesses and startups.

Watch the full webinar for more of the discussion: