DMA: Call for tenders for a study of interoperability tools in the digital single market

The Digital Markets Act (the ‘DMA’), in its endeavour to make digital markets fair and contestable, has horizontal interoperability in its toolkit to open up the digital ecosystems of designated gatekeepers. In this sense, Article 7 of the DMA imposes an obligation on gatekeepers providing number-independent interpersonal communication services to offer interoperability to other providers of these services that request it, allowing for cross-communication between messaging services. Pursuant to Article 53(2) of the DMA the Commission shall evaluate whether the scope of Article 7 DMA may be extended to cover online social networking services as well.

Against this background, with this study the contractor will map out the technical challenges and solutions for ensuring horizontal interoperability between number-independent interpersonal communication services with a particular focus on evaluating the merits of a potential extension of this obligation to online social networking services. The study should therefore offer practical recommendations based on the latest developments in horizontal interoperability within the context of the implementation of the DMA.

More information and instructions on how to submit the tender can be found on the eTendering portal.

This call is open until 19 August 2024 at 16:00 CET (Extended from 31 July).