BRUSSELS – Rick VanMeter, Executive Director of the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF), released the following statement as the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) goes into effect today.
“On this pivotal first day of DMA enforcement, it is imperative that the European Commission soundly reject any attempts by app store gatekeepers to evade this landmark law. Apple’s and Google’s sham compliance plans are guises to maintain their market dominance at the expense of European consumers and developers and must not be accepted.
“Only resolute enforcement of the DMA will dismantle the barriers to competition and innovation that have plagued the app ecosystem. It is essential for the Commission to prioritize the app stores to ensure consumers and developers benefit from the promises of the DMA. Gatekeepers’ hostile action towards developers, as recently as this week, proves the Commission must act now to stop this kind of abuse. The time for half-measures and empty assurances has passed. It is now incumbent upon the European Commission to take decisive action to bring competition and consumer choice to the mobile app ecosystem.”
BACKGROUND
Need a reality check on Apple’s sham compliance strategy? We break down, provision by provision, the many ways in which Apple’s plan violates the DMA. Learn more here.
The full text of the DMA is available here: DMA Regulation Text
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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 Life360, CAF has rapidly grown from 13 to 80 members since launching in September 2020. CAF offers membership to companies of any size — join today at appfairness.org.