Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, may face tough new restrictions under the European Union’s new digital antitrust rulebook, the European Commission said after the company told regulators they could come under the scope of the rules.
X, TikTok-owner Bytedance and travel website group Booking told the Commission on Friday that they run digital services that could make them qualify as so-called gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act, the Commission said late Friday.
The DMA imposes strict guardrails around the world’s largest technology companies like Apple and Meta in an effort to level the digital playing field and make it easier for companies that rely on them to operate online.
Under the DMA, companies can’t favor their own products and services over rivals through their platforms or use data they collect from those rivals to compete against them. They also can’t share users’ personal data with their different platforms without getting explicit consent.
Now X, Booking’s hotel reservation platform and TikTok’s online advertising services may also have to change.
Neither Booking nor X immediately responded to a request by POLITICO for comment.
TikTok’s popular video platform is already classed as a crucial social network under the rules, something the company is challenging in EU courts. TikTok also told the Commission on Friday its advertising service shouldn’t be labelled as a core platform service under the rules even though it meets certain quantitate thresholds to count as one, with spokesperson Elliott Burton calling the video app “a challenger platform” compared to rival Big Tech companies.
“We strongly believe TikTok should not be designated as a gatekeeper in online advertising, an area so clearly dominated by incumbent players, and have set out our case to the Commission,” he said.
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