The European Parliament has passed the landmark Digital Security Act, which has had a huge impact on game makers.
Accordingly, the European Union has passed two Digital Acts that will force large companies to revise digital business policies in their region. The European Parliament reached an agreement regarding these laws at the end of March this year after a 15-month debate. The initial directions were proposed in December 2020 by the European Commission.
The European Union seeks to create a safe digital space with new digital actions. The Digital Markets Act is a new EU law aimed at ensuring a safe and accountable digital space that is fair and open.
EU introduces new digital market law.
The Digital Markets Act establishes the criteria for companies to qualify as gatekeepers. Gatekeepers will have to adhere to the do’s and don’ts listed under the Digital Markets Act. Those who break the law can face penalties ranging from 10% to 20% of annual global sales.
The Digital Markets Act specifically targets large technology companies. The act is intended to prevent large companies from establishing monopolies by giving more opportunities to new and smaller players in the market. Currently, the digital business industry certainly contributes a large part to the world economy. A handful of online platforms play an important part in these activities.
Users also rely heavily on this smaller number of online platforms for digital transactions. The Digital Markets Act will now increase the competitiveness of the digital market and ensure fairness by establishing a certain set of laws. The DMA will limit the gatekeeper’s scope of action and make the market more open to competition.
The Act allows to protect the rights of users online, create a fair online market, promote the interests of users. This is emphasized by Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the European Organization for the Digital Age.
This affects game makers.
According to the announcement of the European Union, after the signature of the Council of the European Union, the Act will enter into force 20 days after its publication. This act goes into effect before the end of 2023.
For a long time, Apple and Google Play have dominated the mobile gaming ecosystem. With the newly enacted laws, these two platforms must allow users to install third-party apps or app stores to use or interact with them. The enactment of these laws will also bring about a change in the revenue policies of technology companies. It will prevent platforms from blocking payments via third-party systems to ensure they receive a commission on all transactions, usually 30%.
Companies also won’t be able to require app developers to use certain services they offer, such as payment systems, for their software to appear in the app store. One of the most important points of the new law is that companies like Google will no longer be able to serve ads that are targeted by collecting customer information from other services.
The new law passed by Congress also targets Apple’s App Store related to pre-installed apps and activities. Apple will need to change the way apps are displayed in the App Store to give small developers more opportunities to download their apps. Apple will also need to allow users to uninstall pre-loaded first-party apps from purchased devices. As a result, both Google and Apple will be restricted and their activities more managed.
