ComparisonEU

DMA vs DSA Digital Markets Act compared with Digital Services Act

The DMA is a gatekeeper and core-platform-services regime for contestability and fairness in digital markets. The DSA is a separate EU framework for digital services, referenced here only at a high level because this page is grounded in DMA source material.

Use this page to keep DMA work separate: designation and CPS scope, Articles 5-7 obligations, interoperability and data access, Article 11 compliance reports, and Commission enforcement exposure.

Author
Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
May 25, 2026
Sections
4

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources
7

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata
Sorena AI
Published May 9, 2026
Updated May 25, 2026
Overview

DMA and DSA are often mentioned together because both govern parts of the EU digital economy, but they should not be implemented as one checklist. The DMA side starts with whether the Commission has designated an undertaking as a gatekeeper for listed core platform services. The DSA side should be scoped from DSA materials; this page keeps it high level and does not invent DSA thresholds, deadlines, or penalties from DMA grounding. Timings in this page are source-linked; verify current legal source language before implementation decisions.

Side-by-side comparison

DMA vs DSA: where the work diverges

Use this table to keep the DMA gatekeeper workstream separate from any DSA workstream. DMA details are grounded here; DSA details should be validated in DSA-specific materials before implementation.

Review all sources
First framework
DMA

The Digital Markets Act targets designated gatekeepers and their listed core platform services to protect contestability and fairness in digital markets.

Second framework
DSA

The Digital Services Act is a separate EU digital-services framework. This page treats it as the comparator only and avoids unsupported DSA thresholds, duties, dates, or penalties.

Comparison row 1

Scope boundary

DMA

Has the Commission designated the undertaking as a gatekeeper, and is the issue tied to a listed core platform service used by EU business users or end users?

DSA

Is the activity a digital service covered by the Digital Services Act? Confirm DSA service category and obligations from DSA-specific sources before implementation.

Operational implication

Do not treat a platform as DMA-covered just because it is large or digital. DMA work starts from designation and listed core platform services.

Comparison row 2

Covered actors

DMA

Articles 5, 6, and 7 impose DMA duties on gatekeepers. Examples include limits on data combination without consent, business-user freedom to offer different terms elsewhere, user choice and default changes, third-party app and app-store access, fair ranking, interoperability, portability, business-user data access, and messaging interoperability.

DSA

DSA duties should be scoped separately under DSA materials. Do not copy DMA Article 5-7 controls into a DSA checklist without a DSA source.

Operational implication

Map each DMA requirement to the exact listed service and article paragraph before reusing any product, legal, or engineering control for DSA work.

Comparison row 3

Trigger

DMA

DMA Article 6 includes interoperability with operating-system, hardware, and software features in specified contexts; end-user data portability; business-user access to data generated through relevant core platform services; advertiser and publisher measurement access; and search-data access on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.

DSA

DSA may involve different digital-service governance issues, but those details are outside this DMA-grounded page unless DSA-specific sources are added.

Operational implication

For DMA requests, preserve the request, authorization, technical route, data fields, response, denial rationale, security or privacy justification, and implementation evidence.

Comparison row 4

Core obligations

DMA

Article 11 requires gatekeepers to provide the Commission with a detailed compliance report within six months after designation and to update the report and non-confidential summary at least annually. The Commission template asks for detailed explanations, supporting data, internal documents, technical changes, customer-experience changes, consultations, alternatives, testing, and indicators.

DSA

DSA reporting should not be inferred from Article 11 DMA. Keep any DSA transparency or reporting work in a separate source-linked record.

Operational implication

A shared evidence repository can exist, but the Article 11 DMA report needs labels by gatekeeper, core platform service, obligation, measure, evidence type, confidentiality status, and annual update status.

Comparison row 5

Evidence record

DMA

The Commission enforces the DMA against gatekeepers. For DMA non-compliance, Article 30 allows fines not exceeding 10% of total worldwide turnover in the preceding financial year, and up to 20% for the same or similar Article 5, 6, or 7 infringement concerning the same core platform service within the preceding eight years. Separate 1% fines can apply for specified information, notification, access, inspection, compliance-function, and file-access failures.

DSA

DSA enforcement and penalty details must be checked in DSA sources. This page does not restate DSA penalty percentages or supervisory allocations from memory.

Operational implication

Escalate DMA risk by article, core platform service, prior non-compliance history, evidence quality, and Commission information requests. Do not quote DMA fine levels as DSA fine levels.

Comparison row 6

Timing and deadlines

DMA

Use DMA when the issue concerns a designated gatekeeper, a listed core platform service, and a DMA obligation, report, interoperability request, data-access right, or Commission enforcement exposure.

DSA

Use DSA analysis when the issue concerns obligations under the Digital Services Act. Add DSA-specific sources before stating thresholds, operational duties, deadlines, or penalties.

Operational implication

The safest comparison output is two records: a DMA record grounded in designation, CPS, Article 5-7 duty, Article 11 evidence, and enforcement exposure; and a separate DSA record grounded in DSA materials.

Comparison row 7

Enforcement

DMA

When a DMA issue is already in scope, track which article is implicated, whether the matter is a one-off request or repeat conduct, and whether the evidence package is complete enough for Commission review.

DSA

For DSA work, keep the supervisory chain and enforcement record in a separate file so reviewers do not assume DMA enforcement mechanics apply unchanged.

Operational implication

Use enforcement rows to document who can ask for what, which evidence must be kept ready, and when escalation is needed. Do not reuse this row as a scope test.

Comparison row 8

Overlap and reuse

DMA

A service can need both a DMA and a DSA review, but the analysis should be split into separate records so the evidence, owner, and decision path are clear.

DSA

If the same product also falls under the Digital Services Act, document that in a separate DSA workstream instead of folding it into the DMA checklist.

Operational implication

Reuse common facts, but not the legal test. The DMA test stays centered on designation, core platform service scope, and the Article 5-7 duty at issue.

Comparison row 9

Practical decision rule

DMA

Start with the DMA question: is there a designated gatekeeper, a listed core platform service, and a specific Article 5, 6, or 7 issue that needs evidence or remediation?

DSA

Then ask whether the same service also needs a DSA review, and route that work to DSA-specific sources rather than borrowing DMA thresholds or penalties.

Operational implication

If the answer is unclear, split the workstream. A clean split prevents mixed obligations, mixed evidence, and mixed ownership.

Practical decision rule

How should teams decide whether DMA or DSA owns the work?

  • Check DMA designation first: named gatekeeper, listed core platform service, and affected EU business-user or end-user flow.
  • Map the DMA issue to an Article 5, 6, or 7 duty, Article 11 reporting evidence, or Commission enforcement exposure.
  • Open DSA analysis only with DSA-specific sources; do not infer DSA thresholds, deadlines, reports, or penalties from DMA materials.
  • Use shared evidence only after labelling which item supports DMA and which item supports DSA.
Section 2

What the DMA comparison should produce

A useful DMA-vs-DSA comparison should not say that both laws require generic platform compliance. It should say whether the DMA applies because a designated gatekeeper operates a listed core platform service, which DMA obligation is triggered, and whether a separate DSA review is also needed.

On the DMA side, the output should be a service-by-service obligation map: Article 5 prohibitions and duties, Article 6 obligations that may be further specified, Article 7 messaging interoperability duties where relevant, and Article 11 report evidence.

  • Use the Commission gatekeeper page or designation record to identify the gatekeeper and listed service.
  • Map the change or issue to a specific Article 5, 6, or 7 obligation before assigning engineering or product work.
  • Separate DMA evidence from any DSA evidence so reviewers can see which statute each artifact supports.
  • Treat Article 11 reporting as a DMA-specific evidence demand, not as a generic transparency-reporting bucket.
Section 3

DMA evidence is operational and service-specific

The DMA Article 11 template expects more than a policy assertion. For each applicable obligation, the gatekeeper is expected to explain the measure, timing, product and geographic scope, technical or engineering changes, user-journey changes, terms changes, consultations, alternatives considered, security or privacy safeguards, testing, indicators, and supporting data.

That makes the DMA side of a comparison highly operational. A product launch, app-store change, data-access API, advertising measurement flow, ranking change, choice screen, consent flow, or interoperability request can require evidence that is different from any DSA evidence gathered for the same service.

  • Keep pre-change and post-change descriptions for affected user journeys and business-user flows.
  • Retain API, operating-system, ranking, data-flow, consent, and security documentation where those measures demonstrate an Article 5-7 compliance position.
  • Keep raw data and indicators retrievable when the Article 11 template expects supporting data or effectiveness evidence.
  • Write the non-confidential summary separately from the full compliance report so confidential material is not leaked.
Section 4

Interoperability and data access are DMA-specific pressure points

The DMA includes concrete interoperability and data-access duties. Article 6 includes effective interoperability with operating-system, hardware, or software features in specified contexts, end-user data portability, business-user data access, advertiser and publisher measurement access, and access to search data on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.

The Commission's DMA resources for businesses point to request channels, API documentation, portability resources, and data-access materials made available by gatekeepers. Those resources help business users and developers turn a DMA right into an evidence-backed request, while any DSA claim should still be checked against DSA-specific sources.

  • For interoperability, identify the feature, operating system or service, request route, gatekeeper response, security justification, and implementation evidence.
  • For data portability, identify the end-user authorization route, covered data, format, timing, and whether access is continuous or real-time where the DMA obligation requires it.
  • For business-user data access, identify the business user, authorized third party, data generated through the relevant core platform service, and any personal-data consent condition.
  • For advertising and search data, keep request, response, data-field, frequency, and measurement evidence tied to the relevant Article 5 or 6 provision.
Primary sources

References and citations

digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Commission page listing the gatekeepers and their designated core platform services.
"core platform services"
digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Official Commission DMA page for the designation-and-obligations structure.
"designation of gatekeepers"
digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Grounds the need to track request processes and specification measures for DMA interoperability.
"request-based process"
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