Microsoft’s search engine Bing, its browser Edge and advertising services may not be included in the list of gatekeepers under Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a report has said. The European Union’s (EU) DMA, which is set to come into effect in March, has deemed some services by large technology companies, including Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and TikTok parent Bytedance, as gatekeepers.
Under these regulations the companies must open their services for interoperability, however, Apple and Microsoft challenged the ruling for some of its services. At that time, Microsoft said its search engine Bing, browser Edge and advertising services should not come under the purview of the Act because they do not meet the requirements to be recognised as gatekeepers.
The Commission then opened three market investigations to assess Microsoft’s submissions on these three services. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that European watchdogs concluded that the products are not dominant enough to be regulated. The five-month-long investigation into the market is set to end in February.
What service is regarded as a ‘gatekeeper’
For a service to be designated as gatekeeper, it must fit in the criteria set by the commission. Any service or company that has a market value of at least EUR 75 billion (approx $82 billion), and either owns a social platform or app that is used by at least 45 million people every month or has at least 10,000 active business users, is considered a gatekeeper.
Microsoft, however, is expected to announce steps to comply with the DMA regulation for services like the Windows operating system and LinkedIn.
The development comes a few days after the EU antitrust regulators said that Microsoft’s investment in ChatGPT-maker company OpenAI may be subject to the region’s merger rules.
Apple’s iMessage is not a ‘gatekeeper’
Last month, the same publication reported that the EU regulator is leaning towards leaving Apple out of the DMA as they have “tentatively concluded that it isn’t popular enough with business users to warrant being hit by the regulation.”
Originally Appeared Here
