The European Commission has published one of its first-ever non-compliance decisions under the Digital Markets Act, targeting Apple. By restricting app developers from steering users outside the App Store, Apple may have caused a loss of profit amounting to EUR millions per month. This landmark decision could open the door to the first private claims brought under the DMA.
Private Enforcement of the EU Digital Markets Act: The way ahead after going live
As of 2 May 2023, the DMA provisions started to be applied as an innovative ex-ante regulation targeting ‘gatekeepers’ in the digital market. Provided that private enforcement plays a central role in the effective application of the DMA, this article provides significant insights in this regard. In the absence of a harmonization act like the EU Antitrust Damages Directive, key principles rooted in EU law and CJEU case law, together with rules progressively proposed under national law for the protection of individual rights of platform users, represent the current state of DMA private enforcement, paving the way for the future.