Statement on the Political Agreement of the Digital Markets Act in European Parliament

(BRUSSELS) 24 March 2022 — Today, ACT | The App Association released a statement from chairperson and founder Mike Sax regarding the political agreement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA):

‘We understand the hard work and commitment of the European institutions to push forward this unprecedented piece of legislation in an extremely complex and rapidly evolving sector.

‘Implementing this novel piece of regulation thoughtfully will be more critical than ever to ensure it does not only level the playing field between the largest players but also truly benefits all businesses, including small app developers.

‘If not implemented with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in mind, we have concerns that some of the obligations for gatekeepers, such as the use of choice screens which list only the main and largest service providers for default apps, will lock small app developers with fewer resources out of the market.

‘We also fear that the DMA’s broad-stroke obligations for online platforms could unintentionally open the gate to malicious actors and put end-users’ data and safety at risk. App developers rely on the safe environment platforms provide to keep bad actors out of the app ecosystem, gain consumers’ trust, and innovate.

‘To avoid any negative impact for the smallest players in the market and prevent them from becoming hostages of litigation between larger players, we urge the European institutions to establish an effective ongoing dialogue between policymakers and all stakeholders in the app economy while they finalise the DMA’s technical provisions and implementation.

‘The DMA must be implemented to enable all SMEs to innovate, grow, and thrive in a fair, competitive, and safe app ecosystem, and the App Association looks forward to collaborating with policymakers to ensure SMEs continue to succeed.’

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