Samsung faces scrutiny under new EU digital market rules

Samsung Electronics Co. is facing scrutiny by the European Union over its leading position in the internet browser market under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new set of regulations aimed at containing Big Tech’s market dominance.

By the July 3 deadline, Samsung and six other Big Tech companies notified the European Commission of their digital operations, according to the executive body of the EU.

The six other companies that have submitted notifications are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok developer ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft.

Samsung reported its business related to Samsung Internet, a mobile web browser for its smartphones and tablets, for regulatory reviews in accordance with the DMA, according to industry sources.

The notification was made in response to the EU’s call for tech giants to report their digital operations to them to assess whether they meet the criteria as “gatekeepers,” ahead of the Act’s implementation in the first quarter of next year.

If designated as a “gatekeeper,” the company will be ordered to comply with the relevant requirements for the next six months, which will eventually restrict their business such as data collection and marketing activities on the internet and mobile platforms.

During the assessment, Samsung will address its position as a manufacturing company different from other Big Tech platforms, one of the sources said.

Europe is Samsung Electronics' second-largest market, accounting for 19.7% of its sales, after North America with a 35.7% share, according to Samsung.

The DMA applies to digital platforms in 10 segments: virtual assistance; online search engines; advertising; video sharing; online messenger; operating systems; internet browsers; online communication; cloud computing and social networking.

The Big Tech companies could be designated as gatekeepers if they meet one of the following thresholds: offering the same services in more than three European countries; generating more than 75 billion euros ($82 billion) in annual revenue from Europe over the past three years; serving at least 45 million active users within the EU over the past three years; or dealing with more than 10,000 corporate customers.

The remedies to be imposed by the EU include banning the gatekeepers from blocking their customers' access to third-party services and treating their services and products more favorably in ranking than similar services offered by third parties on their platform.  

If the gatekeepers failed to comply with the DMA requirements by the deadline, they would have faced a fine of up to 10% of their total global turnover, or up to 20% in the event of repeated infringements, the EU said on its website.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.