ByteDance, the owner of the short-video platform TikTok, has lost a court hearing in which it tried to challenge its status as a “gatekeeper” in the region, which imposes additional responsibilities on it.
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Under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), gatekeepers are required to ensure that their messaging systems are compatible with those of their competitors; allow users to decide which apps to install on their devices; and are not allowed to favor their own services over those of their competitors. ByteDance argues that this designation undermines the original goals of the DMA, as it strengthens the position of dominant companies against new competitors like TikTok, which has no established position.
The European General Court, sitting in Luxembourg, sided with the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, and dismissed ByteDance’s case, calling the Chinese company’s arguments insufficiently substantiated. “The Commission was justified in considering ByteDance as an ‘intermediary,’” the ruling said. ByteDance met all the DMA criteria regarding its market value, the number of TikTok users in the EU, and the time frame in which it had achieved this, the judges said. The court also pointed to TikTok’s recent surge in popularity, which put the platform on par with rival Meta✴ Platforms and Alphabet: Short-form video service strengthens its position despite Instagram format launch✴ Reels и Facebook✴ Reels, as well as YouTube Shorts; and in a short time grew its audience to half of Facebook’s numbers✴ and Instagram✴ in the EU.
“While we will now assess the next steps, we have already taken steps to comply with the relevant DMA obligations before they come into force in March,” a TikTok spokesperson said. The company can now appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe’s highest court. The European Commission said it had noted the decision and would study it. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Booking.com, Meta have also been appointed as EU gatekeepers✴ Platforms and Microsoft. Apple is trying to challenge the DMA’s claims, arguing that the app stores for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch cannot be considered a single platform, and iOS cannot be considered a meaningful gateway for business users. Meta✴ does not agree with the assignment of this status in relation to the Messenger and Marketplace platforms.
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