Interplay of Gatekeepers’ Obligations and Consumer Rights under the Digital Markets Act

Although the Digital Markets Act primarily aims to protect small undertakings in the digital sector in their relations with Big Tech undertakings by introducing contestable and fair markets, consumers as end users can also be considered important participants. The Digital Markets Act provides that large undertakings, if they meet the prescribed conditions, can be designated as gatekeepers with a special legal position. The main characteristic of this legal position concerns several obligations which they must adhere to while providing core platform services. Those obligations provide a better legal position for small undertakings but it is questionable if they also create benefits for consumers as end users. This article aims to explain the relation between gatekeepers’ obligations and the legal position of consumers in the digital sector. It shows that it is possible for a normative regulation, originally aimed at providing contestable and fair markets, to bring many benefits to consumers. This can be seen through new special rights for consumers and even support of the rights that already exist for consumers through general consumer protection law.