Digital Markets Act: MEPs Demand Stronger Enforcement and Closer Scrutiny of AI Tools by Gatekeepers
On 30 April 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Commission to step up enforcement of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), with particular emphasis on the speed of compliance proceedings and the way the Act is being applied to AI-driven search tools and cloud services offered by gatekeeper platforms. The vote was preceded by a robust debate in the lead-up to the Commission’s first formal review of the DMA.
What the DMA does
The Digital Markets Act, which entered into force in 2023 and applied from May 2023, designates the largest online platforms — the so-called gatekeepers — and imposes a list of dos and don’ts on each. Currently designated gatekeepers include Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, ByteDance and Booking.com. Obligations cover interoperability of messaging services, data portability, restrictions on self-preferencing in rankings, and bans on combining personal data across services without explicit consent.
Where MEPs say enforcement is lagging
Parliament’s main complaint is the length of compliance proceedings. Specification proceedings under the DMA — the process by which the Commission tells a gatekeeper exactly what compliance looks like — have in some cases taken more than 12 months. MEPs argue that this gives gatekeepers a structural advantage by allowing them to prolong contested business practices while consultations grind on.
The resolution also calls for far closer scrutiny of how AI-driven services are being integrated into core platform offerings. Specifically: how AI-generated search results, AI assistants and cloud-based AI APIs are positioned within search engines, app stores and operating systems. The concern is that the integration of generative AI is allowing gatekeepers to extend their dominance into adjacent markets faster than enforcement can adapt.
External pushback
The vote came against a backdrop of sustained external pressure on the DMA from the United States. The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised the regulation as a non-tariff barrier targeted at American firms and has threatened countermeasures. MEPs explicitly rejected that framing in the resolution, noting that European companies and consumers benefit from a more contestable digital market and that the same rules apply to non-EU and EU gatekeepers alike.
What happens next
The Commission’s formal DMA review is expected later in 2026. Parliament’s resolution is non-binding but politically important: it sets the benchmark against which Commissioner Virkkunen’s enforcement record will be judged.
