“Level playing field” as EU’s gatekeeper rules boost smaller players

The EU has forced Apple, Google, and other “gatekeepers” to open up their systems to third-party developers, and it’s proving to be a boost for smaller businesses.

Aloha Browser, a little-known Cyprus-based search engine, reported downloads of its app skyrocketing since the Digital Markets Act (DMA) was fully enforced throughout the EU in March last year.

The DMA is a set of competition rules adopted by the bloc to ensure fairer market conditions. It requires powerful companies to allow more interoperability and avoid favoring their own digital services.

The EU designated six gatekeepers: Google’s parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok-owner ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft.

Each holds a dominant position in one or more of the eight sectors, including browsers, search engines, online advertising, intermediation, communication, operating systems, social networks, and video sharing.

Tech giants lobbied heavily against the new legislation, arguing it was overreaching, unfairly targeted American firms, and would stifle innovation. Despite their opposition, all six gatekeepers ultimately had to comply.

For example, Apple opened its iPhone App Store to competitors in the EU, while also allowing users to set browsers other than Safari as the default. Browser choice was also introduced on Android devices.

The privacy-focused Aloha Browser was one of the smaller businesses that benefited from this opening up, recording up to a 15-fold increase in its app downloads across different European countries, with Italy, Poland, France, Spain, and Germany driving the surge.

“We’re excited to see consistent growth throughout the entire year since the DMA was enacted in Europe,” said Aloha founder Andrew Frost Moroz, adding that the initial spike in downloads was followed by steady growth throughout the year, proving to be more than a temporary trend.

“This growth is a result of a combination of factors, including the quality of our innovative features, the rising visibility of our browser, and the impact of the DMA,” he said.

Users who downloaded the firm’s browser through the choice window were also found to be twice as loyal as other organic users.

“This EU initiative is not only creating a level playing field by giving emerging companies a real shot at success but also accelerating and boosting innovation in a market that has become conservative,” Frost Moroz said.

Similar legislation to the DMA, called the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act (DMCC), partially came into force in the UK starting in 2025.

In the US, two proposals are under consideration: the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act. Efforts are also ongoing in countries like Japan, India, Brazil, and South Korea.