The European Union Versus Big Tech: The Digital Services Act

The European Union Versus Big Tech: The Digital Services Act

This IDC Market Perspective discusses the digital service regulations. The European Commission published its proposals for the Digital Services (DSA) and Digital Markets (DMA) Acts in December 2020, kicking off a paradigm shift in the regulation of online platforms in the European Union (EU). The DSA applies to all digital platform or service providers with end users in the European Union, regardless of size of the user base or the location of that company's base of operations. It also applies (in a more limited capacity) to end users and digital marketers engaging on very large platforms."Don't ignore these regulations," says Heather Hershey, research director, Worldwide Digital Commerce at IDC. "Prepare for a digital arms race that will be more dramatic than what you experienced when GDPR was rolled out. This series of regulatory steps is meant to be deliberately disruptive of the status quo on digital marketplaces and platforms. Indeed, the most profound impact may be felt by professionals in the field of digital marketing. The most agile and visionary companies will embrace this as an opportunity. After all, that is also an intended impact of this broad-sweeping regulation: The EU is fighting a de facto war against merchandizing 'nudges' — among other things — to nudge homegrown software companies to become the platforms of tomorrow."

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