BRUSSELS – On Tuesday, June 21, 2022, the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF) held its event The EU Digital Markets Act: The Enforcement Road Ahead for a Competitive App Ecosystem in Brussels, featuring speeches by European Parliament DMA lead Andreas Schwab and European Commission Head of Antitrust for E-Commerce and Data Economy Thomas Kramler.
The event also included a panel with Senior Advisor for Competition of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) Vanessa Turner, Spotify’s Senior Manager for Public Policy Francesco Versace, European Publishers Council Executive Director Angela Mills Wade and Epic Games’ Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy Coriell Wright. The panel was moderated by Damien Geradin, a founding partner at Geradin Partners and counsel to CAF.
The speakers discussed the DMA’s immense potential to transformtoday’s mobile app ecosystem, particularly by ensuring digital gatekeepers do not constrain access to the internet as consumers become increasingly more reliant on the apps on their mobile phones. The speakers pointed to the benefits of the DMA for consumers and developers which include greater choice of in-app payment systems, enhanced communication between app developers and consumers, availability of alternative app stores and consumer freedom over their mobile app preferences.
“We are starting a new era of regulation,” said MEP Andreas Schwab at the start of the event, adding that “enforcement of the law is the next important step.” “Legislation is only as efficient as its enforcement,” echoed the Commission’s Thomas Kramler in his concluding remarks.
“We commend EU’s legislators for their leadership in the fight for a free and fair digital marketplace,” said CAF’s Executive Director Rick VanMeter. “The DMA is an example for other legislative bodies as they continue to work towards holding tech monopolies accountable and bolstering innovation for developers worldwide.”
The DMA is expected to come into force by October, including the initial designation of digital gatekeepers and their specific obligations. CAF will continue to partner with the DMA to ensure strong enforcement that will create a fairer and more competitive app ecosystem.
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About the Coalition for App Fairness
The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization formed to protect consumer choice, foster competition, and create a level playing field for all app and game developers globally. Originally formed by Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, Epic Games, the European Publishers Council, Match Group, News Media Europe, Prepear, Proton, Skydemon, Spotify, and Tile, CAF has rapidly grown from 13 to over 60 members since launching in September 2020. CAF offers membership to companies of any size — join today at appfairness.org.
CAF Contact
June 24, 2022