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March 25 (UPI) -- The European Union announced Monday that it was opening an investigation into Google's parent Alphabet, Meta and Apple over possible violations under the Digital Markets Act. The European Commission said in a statement it was specifically looking into Alphabet's rules on steering on Google Play and Google Search, Apple's steering rules in its App Store, and the choice screen for Safari and Meta's "pay or consent model."
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All three major U.S. tech companies were designated as so-called "gatekeepers" in September under the newly implemented DMA, placing them under restrictions meant to prevent them from treating their own services and products more favorably than other similar third-party competitors.
"The commission suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA," the European Commission said in a statement.
Under the DMA, gatekeepers like Apple and Alphabet are required to allow app developers to "steer" customers to offers outside of their proprietary app stores without having to pay any additional charges or fees.
On Monday, the commission said it was concerned that the two companies, who operate app stores on some of the most widely used smartphones and tablets are still imposing "various restrictions and limitations"
"These constrain, among other things, developers' ability to freely communicate and promote offers and directly conclude contracts, including by imposing various charges," the commission said.
Earlier this month, the European Union fined Apple $1.95 billion for exploiting its market position to illegally block music subscription providers directing App Store users toward less expensive prices for the same subscription in other places.
Apple also faced scrutiny over whether it was sufficiently making it clear to users on devices running its iOS that alternative web browsers apart from its proprietary Safari platform are available.
The commission said it was investigating whether Apple was complying with requirements to allow iOS users to easily uninstall software and applications, easily change default settings and prompt users with screens that clearly present them with alternative choices and allow them to select another service.
The action comes after the U.S. Department of Justice joined 16 other state and district attorneys general in filing a civil antitrust lawsuit against Apple last week for violating the Sherman Act with its monopolizing the smartphone market.
They charged that Apple has illegally maintained its position in the market with contractual restrictions, limiting the chances of challengers getting into the market.
On Monday the EU said it was also looking into whether Google search results "may lead to self-preferencing" by placing its own vertical search services such as Google Shopping, Google Flights and Google Hotels and not providing third-party competitors are featured on the search results page "in a fair and non-discriminatory manner."
The commission found concerning the binary choice imposed by Meta's "pay or consent" model, which required users to either pay a monthly fee to access ad-free versions of its Facebook and Instagram platforms or consent to data tracking, suggesting that it does not provide a real alternative for users.
The commission said it plans to complete the investigations within 12 months and share the findings with the companies and explain measures it should take to comply with the regulations.
