Dirk Auer on the DMA and Ad Tech

Exchange Wire – ICLE Director of Competition Policy Dirk Auer was quoted by Exchange Wire in a story about the impact the European Union’s Digital Markets Act could have on ad tech. You can read full piece here.

Even if tech giants do adhere to this aspect of the DMA, it is also worth considering how competitors respond to it. Dirk Auer, president of the International Centre for Law and Economics, warns that compulsory compatibility with third-party apps could be detrimental to innovation within Europe. “If the goal is to nurture European tech firms—as some have claimed—the DMA will likely be underwhelming,” Auer states. “The DMA mostly enables rival firms to interoperate with large platforms at a lower cost. This will incentivise European startups and other firms to piggyback on existing platforms rather than create their own. As a result, the DMA is unlikely to meaningfully alter competition at the platform level.”