On May 13, 2024, the European Commission announced that it has designated Booking.com as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for its online intermediation service. However, the Commission decided not to designate X Ads and TikTok Ads as gatekeepers.

Based on Booking.com’s self-assessment submitted on March 1, 2024, the Commission determined that Booking.com is an important gateway between businesses and consumers. Booking.com now has six months to comply with DMA obligations, including submitting a detailed compliance report. Some obligations, such as informing the Commission of any intended concentration in the digital sector, apply immediately.

Booking.com is the seventh gatekeeper to be designated under the DMA. It joins Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft, which were designated as gatekeepers on September 6, 2023. The Commission decided that, although X Ads and TikTok Ads meet the quantitative thresholds for designation, they do not qualify as important gateways and therefore will not be designated as gatekeepers.

The Commission is also investigating a rebuttal submitted by X, arguing that it does not qualify as an important gateway despite meeting the thresholds.

The Commission will monitor compliance with DMA obligations. Non-compliance can result in fines up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, increasing to 20% for repeated infringements. In cases of systematic infringements, the Commission can impose additional remedies, such as forcing the sale of parts of the business or banning acquisitions of related services.

Click here to read the European Commission press release on designating Booking.com as a gatekeeper and opening a market investigation into X.