Digital Markets Act Compliance Strategies Among Gatekeeper Platforms

Abstract

Background: Public institutions increasingly manage responsibilities connected with the Digital Markets Act, but the quality of implementation can vary markedly across organizations and jurisdictions.

Objective: We investigated the implementation of arrangements concerning the Digital Markets Act and identified organizational and regulatory factors linked to policy effectiveness and gatekeepers.

Methods: A comparative analysis was undertaken across 4 jurisdictions or institutional settings. Primary legal and policy documents were integrated with structured organizational evidence and, where relevant, key-informant material. Cases were assessed on authority, coordination, transparency, safeguards, enforcement, and implementation capacity.

Results: Three distinct approaches to Digital Markets Act were evident across the cases. Settings that combined clear mandates, formal coordination, and review mechanisms achieved a 30% higher composite implementation score; fragmented responsibility was the common feature in cases experiencing delay or inconsistent enforcement.

Conclusion: Taken together, the results indicate that outcomes related to the Digital Markets Act are shaped by operational governance as well as formal rules. Accordingly, platform regulation works more consistently when obligations are specific, oversight is coordinated, and compliance processes are reviewable.

Study design: comparative compliance study.

Publication history: Originally published in print on 15 June 2024, Volume 4, Article 3. Online abstract record added on 16 September 2026. Full-text PDF will be added when the digital galley is ready.