DMA: Booking labeled European Digital Market “gatekeeper”

The Dutch corporation is the first European company to make the list and will have to take measures to reduce its anticompetitive practices.

On May 13, 2024, the European Commission announced it considered Booking a “gatekeeper” of the European digital market, as per the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Dutch hotel-booking platform will thus have to comply with new requirements, in order to prevent abuse of its dominant position.

“Here is today’s good news: holiday-goers will have a greater selection, and hotels, more business opportunities,” commented Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Vice President for Competition. The goal of the DMA is to fight against abuses of dominance, support digital giant competitors and improve personal data protection.

In order to be considered a gatekeeper, a company must have had more than 45 million monthly users and 10,000 yearly professional customers for three years in the EU. It must also have posted at least 7.5 billion euros in sales three years in a row, and have a market cap of 75 billion euros in the last year.

Booking is the first European company to become a gatekeeper. It joins the Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok’s publisher, and the five US Big Tech companies, i.e. Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Apple, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft. Booking now has six months to reach compliance with the DMA. However, some measures apply with immediate effect, for example the need for Brussels’ approval concerning any acquisition in the digital sector.

Booking was already in European crosshairs before the announcement. In September 2023, the Commission thus canceled the buyout of flight-booking website eTraveli by the Dutch platform. The Italian competition authority put Booking “under surveillance” for suspicion of abuse of a dominant position.

The Commission also announced a six-month investigation to determine whether X (formerly Twitter) is also a gatekeeper.