Meta, TikTok fight EU gatekeeper status to avoid opening up services to rivals

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Two of the world’s biggest tech companies have appealed the European Union’s designation of their services as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA)—a strict EU antitrust law aimed at “preventing gatekeepers from imposing unfair conditions on businesses and end users” and “ensuring the openness of important digital services.”

On Wednesday, Meta became the first to appeal gatekeeper status of its Messenger and Marketplace services, Reuters reported. According to Meta, its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp services qualify as gatekeepers, but not other designated services that the social giant considers simply functionalities of Facebook—its Messenger and Marketplace services. Further, Meta argued that its Marketplace enables consumer-to-consumer services—which it said is different from businesses promoting outside services—and therefore, Meta contends that service falls outside the DMA’s scope.

That same day, ByteDance quickly followed suit, appealing TikTok’s gatekeeper status. According to a TikTok blog post, TikTok shouldn’t be designated as a gatekeeper because it’s a newcomer that “does not hold an ‘entrenched’ position.”