European competition regulators announced that Alphabet’s Google, Apple and Meta Platforms will be investigated for potential breaches of the EU’s new Digital Markets Act — potentially leading to big fines for the companies.

The new European Union law aims to challenge the power of the tech giants by making it easier for people to move between competing online services like social media platforms, internet browsers and app stores.

The European Commission said it has “opened non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) into Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari and Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’.”

The Commission said it “suspects that the measures put in place by these gatekeepers fall short of effective compliance of their obligations under the DMA.”

In addition, the Commission has launched investigatory steps relating to Apple’s new fee structure for alternative app stores and Amazon’s ranking practices on its marketplace.

Finally, the Commission has ordered gatekeepers to retain certain documents to monitor the effective implementation and compliance with their obligations.

Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, said: “Today, the Commission opens five non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

“They concern Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing in Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and on choosing browsers and changing defaults, and Meta’s ‘pay or consent model’.

“We suspect that the suggested solutions put forward by the three companies do not fully comply with the DMA.

“We will now investigate the companies’ compliance with the DMA, to ensure open and contestable digital markets in Europe.”