---
title: "DMA Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams"
canonical_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/dos-and-donts-for-product-teams"
source_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/dos-and-donts-for-product-teams"
author: "Sorena AI"
description: "Practical DMA do's and don'ts for product and engineering teams: how to avoid self-preferencing, implement choice screens and default changes."
published_at: "2026-02-21"
updated_at: "2026-02-23"
keywords:
  - "DMA do and dont"
  - "DMA product teams"
  - "Digital Markets Act product requirements"
  - "choice screen DMA"
  - "default settings DMA"
  - "DMA self-preferencing"
  - "DMA third-party app stores"
  - "DMA data portability"
  - "Article 11 compliance report evidence"
  - "DMA product playbook"
  - "choice screen"
  - "self-preferencing"
  - "third-party app stores"
  - "data portability"
---
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---

# DMA Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams

Practical DMA do's and don'ts for product and engineering teams: how to avoid self-preferencing, implement choice screens and default changes.

*Artifact Guide* *EU*

## EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams

A practical playbook for building DMA compliance into product and engineering decisions.

Optimised for teams shipping within the 6-month post-designation deadline and documenting evidence for Article 11.

DMA compliance becomes real in product decisions: ranking changes, default settings, app distribution flows, consent prompts, and APIs. This playbook focuses on what product and engineering teams should do (and avoid) when building DMA changes per core platform service (CPS).

## Do: treat DMA as product requirements per CPS

DMA obligations attach to each core platform service (CPS) listed in the designation decision. That means compliance must be implemented and tested per CPS surface, not just declared in policy.

Use a CPS-by-CPS requirements doc that maps Articles 5-7 obligations to features, owners, and acceptance criteria.

- Create an obligation-to-feature map per CPS and track it in your product backlog.
- Define measurable acceptance criteria (e.g., default change succeeds, uninstall path works, portability export completes, request SLAs met).
- Add a DMA review gate to launches that affect ranking, discovery, distribution, identity, payments, consent, and cross-service data flows.

## Don't: bury preferential treatment in ranking, indexing, or experiments

DMA Article 6(5) prohibits self-preferencing in ranking and requires transparent, fair, non-discriminatory conditions.

Self-preferencing often hides in "harmless" experiments and hand-tuned boosts. If you cannot explain ranking changes, you cannot defend them.

- Avoid hard-coded boosts/whitelists for first-party content, services, or products.
- Avoid asymmetric eligibility rules (faster indexing, looser quality thresholds) for first-party offerings.
- Do build ranking governance: feature/parameter registry, experiment approvals, parity tests, and monitoring.

## Do: build real choice (defaults, uninstall, and distribution)

DMA Article 6 includes obligations that drive UX and OS/app-store changes: uninstallability, default settings and choice prompts, and enabling third-party apps/app stores.

These obligations are best implemented with testable flows and clear logging so you can prove effectiveness.

- Implement easy uninstall of apps (except those essential to OS/device functioning).
- Enable easy default changes; prompt end users at first use to choose among main providers for search engine, virtual assistant, and browser where applicable.
- Enable installation and effective use of third-party apps and app stores using/interoperating with the OS, including access by means other than the gatekeeper CPS, subject to strictly necessary and proportionate integrity/security measures.

## Don't: treat consent/data combination as a UI problem only

DMA Article 5(2) restricts combining/cross-using personal data across services without specific choice and consent; it also limits repeated requests if consent is refused or withdrawn.

This is a systems problem: data pipelines, identity graphs, consent state storage, and enforcement in downstream processing.

- Avoid "binary choice" designs that effectively force consent to combine data as a condition to use the service's core value.
- Do implement consent enforcement in data systems (not just in UI): gating, audit logs, and testing of downstream usage.
- Do design "less personalised but equivalent" experiences where relevant and measurable.

## Do: treat portability and access as APIs with SLAs

Article 6 requires effective data portability for end users and continuous/real-time access to data, plus data access for business users (with consent constraints for personal data).

Build this like a platform capability: APIs, documentation, rate limits, monitoring, and support processes.

- Portability tooling: continuous and real-time access, export formats, and clear documentation.
- Business-user data access: high-quality, continuous, real-time access to aggregated and non-aggregated data generated in CPS use; personal data sharing only with end-user opt-in consent.
- Operational readiness: observability, error budgets, and an escalation path when portability/access fails.

## Do: capture evidence as you ship (Article 11 compliance report ready)

The Commission's Article 11 compliance report template expects detailed explanations of measures per CPS and per obligation, supported by data, internal docs, and often recorded demos.

If evidence capture is an afterthought, compliance becomes a documentation scramble.

- Record prior state vs new state: screenshots, flows, API docs, and change logs.
- Capture implementation metadata: implementation date, scope (products/devices), geographic scope, and engineering details (APIs, ranking parameters, security measures).
- Keep underlying raw data ready and store evidence in machine-readable formats where possible.

*Recommended next step*

*Placement: near the end of the main content before related guides*

## Use EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams as a cited research workflow

Research Copilot can take EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams from getting cited answers and faster research on this topic to a reusable workflow inside Sorena. Teams working on EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) can keep owners, evidence, and next steps aligned without copying this guide into separate documents.

- [Open Research Copilot for EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams](/solutions/research-copilot.md): Start from EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams and answer scope, timing, and interpretation questions with cited outputs.
- [Talk through EU Digital Markets Act (DMA)](/contact.md): Review your current process, evidence gaps, and next steps for EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Do's and Don'ts for Product Teams.

## Primary sources

- [Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (Digital Markets Act) - Official Journal](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/1925/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Obligations in Articles 5-7 that drive product and engineering requirements (choice, ranking, data, interoperability).
- [European Commission - Article 11 DMA Compliance Report Template (9 Oct 2023)](https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/about-dma/practical-information_en#templates?ref=sorena.io) - Evidence expectations (engineering changes, UX changes, demos, and data) for compliance reporting.
- [European Commission - Interoperability (Questions and Answers)](https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/questions-and-answers/interoperability_en?ref=sorena.io) - Example of how interoperability expectations can be specified in detail and tracked through timelines.
- [European Commission - Resources for businesses](https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/questions-and-answers/resources-businesses_en?ref=sorena.io) - Practical developer/business resources relevant to implementing portability and interoperability flows.

## 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 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.
- [DMA vs DSA: What's the Difference? (EU Platform Laws)](/artifacts/eu/digital-markets-act/dma-vs-dsa.md): 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.
- [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).


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