EU Commission: Musk's X is not a "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act

Elon Musk has scored a rare success in Brussels: The EU Commission ruled on Wednesday that the microblogging network X, which he controls the majority of, should not be classified as a central platform service under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The former Twitter is therefore not subject to the particularly strict competition rules of the Digital Services Act. Gatekeepers who fall under these rules must, among other things, make messenger or messaging services interoperable. In addition, they may not give preference to their own products or services on their platforms.

The Commission launched a market investigation into the treatment of X in light of the DMA on May 13. The platform operator had previously registered its status as a potential "gatekeeper" for examination, but at the same time put forward counter-arguments. Musk's company emphasized that the online service should not be considered an important gateway between companies and consumers, even if X in principle meets the quantitative thresholds set out in the DMA and could be considered as a gatekeeper.

X continues to face severe penalties under the DSA

After a "thorough assessment of all arguments", the Brussels competition authorities have now followed X's line in principle. X was "not an important gateway for business users" to reach end users. The decision was made with input from "the relevant stakeholders" and after consultation with the Digital Markets Advisory Committee, the Commission emphasizes. However, it wants to continue to monitor developments and react "should significant changes arise". A revised and then no longer confidential version of the decision is to be published on the official DMA website in the near future.

The Brussels-based executive body initially classified 22 services and platforms from Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta and Microsoft as gatekeepers. Three Microsoft services (Edge, Bing and ad technology) and iMessage from Apple were removed from this list following objections from the two gatekeepers. Together with ByteDance and Booking.com, X notified further services that could potentially fall under the DMA. However, the Commission is generally not letting X off the hook. For example, it already assumes that the service violates the provisions of the second major platform law, the Digital Services Act (DSA). The in-depth analyses are still ongoing. Tough sanctions are imminent. Former Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton and Musk recently engaged in a heated exchange about the limits of freedom of expression on X.

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