Apple’s $2 billion fine marks a new dawn for antitrust regulation

livemint.com:

Another day, another multibillion-dollar regulatory fine from Europe that will barely dent the balance sheet of a technology giant. Only this time, the European Commission’s $2 billion penalty against Apple marks the end of an old clunky era, and the start of a new one where trust-busters can be quicker and more efficient in policing Silicon Valley’s biggest companies. Their secret weapon: a new law called the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

It finally comes into force on 6 March, when six companies designated as “gatekeepers" will have to comply with its 22 rules. Apple’s case is a prime example of how things will change after this week. Its penalty comes after an old complaint from Spotify over the alleged stranglehold of Apple’s App Store.

The fine is barely a scratch for Apple, which made $120 billion in first-quarter sales, but it symbolizes a new approach for Europe’s antitrust regulators, who already take more action against tech firms than their US counterparts. Now they can do more with less to challenge the growing dominance of tech firms worth more than $10 trillion. The first reason is the DMA law itself.

Until now, the European Commission has had to spend years gathering evidence and proving the anticompetitive effects of tech firm’s behaviour in their cases. Spotify’s complaint against Apple was made five years ago. Another recent investigation by the EU into Google took seven years.

European law says you can only prohibit conduct if you can prove, with empirical evidence, that it has hurt consumer welfare. The result: Cases take years and are painfully expensive. The DMA offers a new legal loophole.