Microsoft has convinced EU regulators that its Bing search engine, or Edge browser, cannot be considered a gateway for businesses to reach end users. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) will come into effect late next month, and some tech companies have to make provisions for users to switch services from such companies if they wish to.
The European Commission investigated Microsoft offerings such as Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising and found that these services from the Redmond, Washington tech giant “did not qualify as gatekeeper services.”
The EC said that Microsoft’s Windows operating system and LinkedIn social network will continue with the gatekeeper classification.
The EC said it had done “a thorough assessment of all arguments, taking into account input by relevant stakeholders.” However, it did not detail the arguments put forth by the company.
Microsoft said that Bing, Edge, and Microsoft Advertising were challengers to the market. They are relatively small in scale. So, they cannot be considered as gateways for business users.
A Microsoft spokesperson said that Microsoft would continue to work with the European Commission and the industry at large to ensure that the designated platforms of the tech giant remain fully compliant with the DMA.
The European Commission also found that iMessage “did not qualify as gatekeeper services.”
Although Apple was happy with the EC ruling, the Coalition for Open Digital Ecosystems (CODE) disagreed with the decision not to term iMessage as a gateway.
CODE, which includes Google, Meta Platforms, and Qualcomm, noted that it was surprised by the decision and described it as undermining the Digital Markets Act and might decrease the choices available to Europeans.
In 2023, the European Union named the following six companies as designated gatekeepers
Google
Amazon
Apple
ByteDance
Meta and
Microsoft.
European regulators believe that these companies are deeply entrenched in the system. So, they should open their services to allow competitors access.
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