Big Tech is finally sweating. If you live in Europe and noticed your iPhone suddenly acting more like a PC—or your WhatsApp asking if you want to chat with people on other apps—you’re seeing the EU Digital Markets Act in the wild. It’s been a long road of legal bickering and "malicious compliance," but 2026 is the year the rubber really hits the road.
Honestly, the "gatekeepers"—Apple, Alphabet (Google), Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and ByteDance—tried to stall. They really did. But the European Commission isn't playing games anymore.
The Apple "Core Technology" Pivot
You’ve probably heard about the drama with the App Store. For years, Apple held a literal monopoly on how you got apps on your phone. Then the DMA forced them to allow "sideloading" and third-party app stores. Apple's initial response? A "Core Technology Fee" (CTF) that basically charged developers €0.50 per install. It was a mess.
But here is the real EU Digital Markets Act news for January 2026: Apple is officially sunsetting that per-install CTF. In its place, they’ve rolled out the Core Technology Commission (CTC).
Instead of a flat fee for every download, Apple is now taking a percentage of digital sales—even if those sales happen outside their own payment system. It sounds like a win for small developers who don’t have millions of downloads, but the big players are still fuming. The European Commission is currently investigating if these new fees are just another way to "steer" people back to the official App Store.
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What changed for you this month?
- Browser Choice Screens: Remember when Safari was just there? Now, when you set up a device, you get a randomized list of browsers. No more burying Chrome or Firefox in the settings.
- Default Apps: You can now fully delete almost any pre-installed Apple app, including the Photos app and even the App Store itself (though why you’d want to is another question).
- NFC Access: Banks are finally launching their own "Tap to Pay" features on iPhone, bypassing Apple Pay entirely.
Meta and the "Pay or Consent" Trap
Meta (Facebook and Instagram) has been in a massive fistfight with regulators over how they use your data. They tried a "Pay or Consent" model—either pay a monthly fee or let us track everything you do to show you ads.
As of January 2026, Meta has been forced to offer a third option. EU users are now seeing a choice to use a "less personalized" version of Facebook and Instagram for free. This version uses way less of your personal data for advertising. It’s a huge blow to Meta’s bottom line, which is why the ads you do see on that version might feel a bit more generic or repetitive.
The WhatsApp Interoperability Breakthrough
This is the one people actually care about. For a decade, you were stuck on WhatsApp because all your friends were on WhatsApp. You couldn't message a WhatsApp user from Signal or Telegram.
Well, the wall has a hole in it now.
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Meta officially launched its "Third-Party Chats" feature. Right now, it’s mostly smaller apps like BirdyChat and Haiket that have signed on, but the infrastructure is live.
- You go into your WhatsApp settings.
- You opt-in to third-party integrations.
- You get a separate inbox for messages coming from outside the Meta ecosystem.
It’s clunky. Group chats don't quite work perfectly across platforms yet, and end-to-end encryption is a nightmare to sync between different companies. But the "network effect" that kept Meta in power is finally starting to crack.
Google Search and the Publisher War
Google is also in the hot seat this month. The Commission is currently deep-diving into whether Google is "demoting" media publishers in search results.
Under the DMA, Google isn't allowed to favor its own services (like Google Shopping or Google Flights) over rivals. But publishers are complaining that Google’s new AI-generated search summaries are "stealing" their traffic. If Google is found to be "self-preferencing" or unfairly squeezing out news sites, the fines could reach 10% of their global revenue. That’s billions with a 'B'.
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New Faces, Same Pressure
Margrethe Vestager, the "Iron Lady" of tech regulation, is gone. Her successor, Teresa Ribera, took the reins with a clear message: the DMA is a "constitutional duty."
There was some worry that the new commission might go soft on Big Tech to help Europe’s "competitiveness." Ribera has shut that down. Just this week, she reaffirmed that the EU has a legal obligation to enforce these rules, regardless of the political pressure coming from the U.S. or the "innovation" complaints from Silicon Valley.
Why This Matters for the Rest of the World
The "Brussels Effect" is real. Japan, the UK, and even parts of the U.S. are looking at the DMA as a blueprint. If Apple can change the iPhone for 450 million Europeans, it becomes much harder for them to argue that they can't do it for everyone else.
We’re moving toward a world where "The Platform" isn't the boss anymore. You own the device; you should choose the software. It’s a simple concept, but it took a massive piece of legislation to make it a reality.
Actionable Next Steps for You
If you’re a user or a small business owner in the EU, here is how to actually use these changes:
- Audit Your Defaults: Go to your phone settings and look for the new "Default Apps" menu. You might find a password manager or a browser that works better for your workflow than the factory settings.
- Check Your Meta Privacy Settings: Look for the new "Less Personalized Ads" option. It’s tucked away, but it’s there. It’s the best way to reclaim some of your data privacy without paying a subscription.
- Test Interoperability: If you use a smaller messaging app for work, check if they’ve enabled the WhatsApp bridge. It can save you from constantly switching between five different apps just to stay in touch.
- Watch the May 2026 Review: The EU is doing a massive review of the DMA this May to see if it needs to be expanded to include Generative AI models. If you’re in tech, that’s the date to circle on your calendar.
The gatekeepers are still trying to find loopholes, but for the first time in twenty years, the power dynamic is actually shifting. It’s not perfect, and it’s definitely "kinda" messy, but the internet in Europe is finally starting to feel a bit more open again.