Six tech companies, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok, Meta, Microsoft, and Samsung, have informed the European Commission that they meet the criteria to be classified as “gatekeepers” under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). EU industry chief Thierry Breton announced on July 4 that these companies now meet the thresholds under EU law. The official designation will be announced by September 6 after the EU authorities review the submissions by the tech companies. After the deadline, non-compliant companies will have six months to comply with the DMA rules. The DMA aims to promote more competition in the tech industry. Companies labeled as gatekeepers will be required to allow their messaging apps to interoperate with third-party rivals and allow users to decide which apps to pre-install on their devices. They will also be forbidden from favoring their own services over their rivals and preventing users from removing pre-installed software or apps. Violations of the DMA can result in fines of up to 10 percent of annual global turnover. However, TikTok’s owner ByteDance has disputed its inclusion on the list, stating that it falls short of the overall requirements set out under the rule. Apple has expressed concerns about the new law, citing potential privacy and security vulnerabilities for its users. Meta, formerly Facebook, has announced that it will allow users to download apps via Facebook ads in Europe.