So, kind of a win for X, and kind of not.

Today, the European Commission confirmed the platform formerly known as Twitter does not qualify as a "Gatekeeper" platform under the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), that means X won't have to adhere to EU rules around access and collaboration, as part of anti-monopoly regulations.

Under the EU Digital Markets Act, the gatekeepers identified by the platforms have to allow third-party systems to inter-operate with their services. A great example for this is Meta letting other messaging apps send messages to WhatsApp. The platforms also have to allow business users access the data generated by business users, while providing ad performance information for independent verification.

The aim, basically is to ensure fair competition in the market, making it difficult for the tech giants to squeeze out smaller players because of their dominant position.

And after investigation, the EU has decided that X will not be brought under these requirements.

As per the EU Commission:

Today, the Commission found that the online social networking service of X not a core platform service subject to the DMA. The decision follows the comprehensive market investigation launched on May 13, 2024 following the notification by X of its status as a potential gatekeeper". Accompanying the complaint, X also filed reply arguments as to why, in its view, an online social networking service operated by X should not be regarded as an important gateway between businesses and consumers, even if X is found to satisfy the quantitative requirements of the DMA."

So X has been trying to avoid gatekeeper classification because it would impose more reporting and transparency requirements, and the noted interconnectivity clauses. That's a lot more regulatory work for X, so it would rather not fall into that category, if possible.

But then again, as the Commission notes:

"The investigation revealed that X is not an important gateway for business users to reach end users."

Not so great, then, that X, which has been hyped up to great heights as an influencer, does not have enough critical mass in the European market to classify him as a key connector.

Although that also makes sense.

X presently boasts 105 million monthly active users in Europe. But this is a number which has declined by approximately 12 million users since August 2023. The consistent decline in X usage and the problems within its ad business do suggest that X is losing its grip on that particular front.

For comparison, Meta has some 250 million EU monthly actives using both Facebook and IG, while TikTok counts 142 million MAU. Both have met the qualifications as gatekeepers in the region, though that's also reflective of the strong performance of their ad businesses in the market.

And X is simply not comparable, although the Commission does observe that it will keep the situation under review and be able to reassess at any time.
Meanwhile, supporters of X owner Elon Musk have hailed this as "a win for innovation and free speech". Which it's not, it has nothing to do with the broader mission of X in allowing more types of content on its platform. But conceptually, without these extra requirements, maybe, X will be more free to chase this ambition.

Probably not. In effect, the judgement only shows that X is not in one of the main players in the EU market, and losing gravitas as an entire entity. So it's a win in terms of reduced requirements but a blow in the sense of reflecting that X is behind the rest.

Perhaps Elon's "everything app" vision one day will change this, but for now, X is not thought of as part of the upper tier of business connecting social apps.