--- title: "DMA vs DSA: What's the Difference? (EU Platform Laws)" canonical_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/dma-vs-dsa" source_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/dma-vs-dsa" author: "Sorena AI" description: "A practical comparison of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) vs the Digital Services Act (DSA): what each law regulates, who is in scope, core obligations." published_at: "2026-02-21" updated_at: "2026-02-23" keywords: - "DMA vs DSA" - "difference between DMA and DSA" - "Digital Markets Act vs Digital Services Act" - "EU platform regulation" - "gatekeeper regulation" - "online safety regulation EU" - "DMA obligations Articles 5 6 7" - "DSA obligations content moderation" - "Digital Markets Act" - "Digital Services Act" - "gatekeeper obligations" - "online safety compliance" --- **[SORENA](https://www.sorena.io/)** - AI-Powered GRC Platform [Home](https://www.sorena.io/) | [Solutions](https://www.sorena.io/solutions) | [Artifacts](https://www.sorena.io/artifacts) | [About Us](https://www.sorena.io/about-us) | [Contact](https://www.sorena.io/contact) | [Portal](https://app.sorena.io) --- # DMA vs DSA: What's the Difference? (EU Platform Laws) A practical comparison of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) vs the Digital Services Act (DSA): what each law regulates, who is in scope, core obligations. *Artifact Guide* *EU* ## EU Platform Laws DMA vs DSA DMA governs gatekeeper fairness and contestability; DSA governs online safety and platform accountability. Use this comparison to structure responsibilities across product, policy, trust & safety, privacy, and platform engineering. DMA and DSA are often discussed together because both regulate large digital platforms in the EU - but they solve different problems. The DMA (Regulation (EU) 2022/1925) targets contestability and fairness for core platform services operated by designated gatekeepers. The DSA (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) targets illegal content, transparency, and systemic risk management for online intermediaries and platforms. Many companies need both compliance programs at once. ## DMA vs DSA in one sentence DMA: competition/fairness law for designated gatekeepers and their core platform services (CPS), with product and access obligations (Articles 5-7) and a 6-month compliance clock after CPS listing. DSA: online safety/accountability law for intermediaries and platforms, with obligations around notice-and-action, transparency, risk assessment/mitigation (for very large platforms), and governance. - DMA is about market structure and business-user/end-user choice. - DSA is about illegal content, user protection, and transparency of platform operations. - Both impose documentation and governance expectations, but the operational teams differ (platform engineering vs trust & safety vs legal). *Recommended next step* *Placement: after the comparison section* ## Use EU Platform Laws DMA vs DSA as a cited research workflow Research Copilot can take EU Platform Laws DMA vs DSA from how this topic compares with adjacent regulations or standards to a reusable workflow inside Sorena. Teams working on EU Platform Laws can keep owners, evidence, and next steps aligned without copying this guide into separate documents. - [Open Research Copilot for EU Platform Laws DMA vs DSA](/solutions/research-copilot.md): Start from EU Platform Laws DMA vs DSA and answer scope, timing, and interpretation questions with cited outputs. - [Talk through EU Platform Laws](/contact.md): Review your current process, evidence gaps, and next steps for EU Platform Laws DMA vs DSA. ## Who is in scope DMA scope hinges on gatekeeper designation and the CPS list (intermediation, search, social networking, OS, browsers, virtual assistants, cloud, ads, etc.). DSA scope hinges on the role as an intermediary service and, for higher tiers, platform size and systemic impact (including very large online platforms/search engines). - DMA is "designation-first" and CPS-specific: obligations attach to the listed CPS. - DSA is "service-role-first" and often applies broadly across the service (with tiered obligations). - A company can be a DMA gatekeeper for some CPS and still have separate DSA obligations for platform moderation and transparency. ## Obligations: what teams actually build DMA obligations are often implemented in platform infrastructure: choice screens, default settings, third-party app distribution, ranking neutrality, data portability, and interoperability interfaces. DSA obligations are often implemented in trust & safety systems: reporting, moderation workflows, transparency reporting, ad transparency, user redress, and risk controls. - DMA engineering workstreams: consent and data separation (Article 5(2)), ranking neutrality/self-preferencing controls (Article 6(5)), app store and OS distribution/choice (Article 6(3)-(4)), interoperability and access (Article 6(7), Article 7), portability and access APIs (Article 6(9)-(10)). - DSA workstreams: notice-and-action pipelines, content moderation tooling and audits, transparency reports, risk assessments/mitigations for very large services, and crisis response where applicable. - Overlap zones: ad transparency, recommender systems, and user choice can create combined requirements. ## Enforcement model differences (why compliance programs feel different) DMA enforcement is tied to gatekeeper conduct and measurable obligations; penalties include turnover-based fines and periodic penalty payments to compel compliance. DSA enforcement is tied to content governance and systemic risk outcomes; the operational focus is often audits, reporting, and risk mitigation. - DMA: 6-month compliance deadline after CPS listing; enforcement can include preliminary findings, non-compliance decisions, fines, and ongoing monitoring. - DSA: ongoing obligations with tiered requirements; enforcement emphasises transparency, risk management processes, and operational effectiveness. - In practice: DMA compliance is heavily product/engineering driven; DSA compliance is heavily trust & safety, policy, and governance driven. ## How to run a combined DMA + DSA compliance program (practical operating model) The best combined program avoids duplicated governance by separating shared controls (documentation, evidence, change control) from domain-specific controls (ranking and access vs content moderation). Use a single evidence library with different "views" for DMA and DSA reporting, and align escalation paths so product changes don't break compliance. - Shared layer: change control, evidence standards, incident response for compliance regressions, and executive reporting. - DMA layer: CPS-by-CPS obligation mapping, interoperability/portability SLAs, ranking governance, and compliance report evidence (Article 11). - DSA layer: trust & safety operations, transparency reporting, risk assessment/mitigation (where applicable), and user redress workflows. - Cross-functional mapping: recommender and ad systems often touch both laws - treat them as shared technical domains. ## Primary sources - [Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (Digital Markets Act) - Official Journal](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/1925/oj?ref=sorena.io) - DMA legal basis: gatekeeper designation, CPS scope, and obligations (Articles 5-7). - [Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act) - Official Journal](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj?ref=sorena.io) - DSA legal basis: platform obligations around online intermediary services, transparency, and online safety. - [European Commission - Gatekeepers list and designated core platform services](https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/gatekeepers_en?ref=sorena.io) - Concrete DMA gatekeeper/CPS examples used to explain DMA scope in practice. ## Related Topic Guides - [DMA Applicability Test (Gatekeeper Scoping) | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/applicability-test.md): A practical DMA applicability test for teams scoping EU Digital Markets Act exposure: core platform service (CPS) mapping, gatekeeper presumption thresholds. - [DMA Compliance Checklist (Execution-Ready) | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/checklist.md): An execution-ready EU DMA checklist: CPS scoping, gatekeeper thresholds, designation readiness, Article 5-7 obligation mapping, product/engineering controls. - [DMA Compliance Program & Monitoring (Compliance Function + Evidence)](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/compliance-program-and-monitoring.md): How to build an EU DMA compliance program that survives scrutiny: Article 28 compliance function design, monitoring readiness. - [DMA Deadlines & Compliance Calendar (Key Dates) | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/deadlines-and-compliance-calendar.md): A calendar-ready DMA deadlines guide: application date, gatekeeper notification (2 months), designation (45 working days), 6-month compliance deadline. - [DMA Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/dos-and-donts-for-product-teams.md): Practical DMA do's and don'ts for product and engineering teams: how to avoid self-preferencing, implement choice screens and default changes. - [DMA Enforcement: Penalties, Remedies, and Process | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/enforcement-penalties-and-remedies.md): How EU DMA enforcement works: information requests, monitoring, preliminary findings, non-compliance decisions, commitments, interim measures, remedies. - [DMA Fines & Penalties (10% / 20% / 1% + 5% per day) | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/penalties-and-fines.md): A practitioner guide to DMA penalties: non-compliance fines up to 10% worldwide turnover, repeat infringement fines up to 20%, procedural fines up to 1%. - [DMA Obligations List (Articles 5, 6, 7) - By Obligation | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/core-obligations-by-obligation.md): A detailed, obligation-by-obligation breakdown of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA): Article 5 restrictions, Article 6 obligations (choice screens, app stores. - [DMA Self-Preferencing Compliance Examples (Article 6(5)) | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/self-preferencing-compliance-examples.md): Practical self-preferencing compliance guidance for DMA Article 6(5): what counts as self-preferencing in ranking/indexing/crawling, what "transparent, fair. - [EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Requirements (Articles 5-7)](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/requirements.md): A deep, execution-ready overview of EU DMA requirements for gatekeepers: Article 5 restrictions, Article 6 obligations (choice screens, app distribution. - [EU DMA Compliance Guide (How to Comply) | Digital Markets Act (DMA)](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/compliance.md): A practical guide to EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) compliance: how to scope CPS, start the 6-month clock after designation, implement Articles 5-7 obligations. - [EU DMA FAQ (Gatekeepers, Obligations, Deadlines) | Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/faq.md): EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) FAQ: what is a gatekeeper, what counts as a core platform service (CPS), what are the key obligations (Articles 5-7). - [EU DMA Timeline & Key Milestones | Digital Markets Act (2022/1925)](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/timeline-and-key-milestones.md): A grounded EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) timeline: application date, gatekeeper designations, compliance clocks, Article 7 staged interoperability milestones. - [Gatekeeper Compliance Checklist (DMA Articles 5-7 + Article 11)](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/gatekeeper-compliance-checklist.md): A gatekeeper-focused DMA compliance checklist: what to implement within 6 months per listed CPS, how to structure the Article 11 compliance report. - [Gatekeeper Designation Guide (DMA Article 3) | EU Digital Markets Act](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/gatekeeper-designation-guide.md): A practical guide to DMA gatekeeper designation: core platform service mapping, Article 3 thresholds (45M / 10,000 / EUR 7.5B / EUR 75B). --- [Privacy Policy](https://www.sorena.io/privacy) | [Terms of Use](https://www.sorena.io/terms-of-use) | [DMCA](https://www.sorena.io/dmca) | [About Us](https://www.sorena.io/about-us) (c) 2026 Sorena AB (559573-7338). 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