BRUSSELS, Nov. 14 -- The European Commission announced on Thursday that it will evaluate whether Booking Holdings, which operates the online platform Booking.com for short-term real estate rentals, complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

In its statement, the Commission noted that Booking Holdings, designated as a "gatekeeper" in May, must ensure its online intermediation service, Booking.com, meets all relevant obligations under the DMA.

The Commission highlighted that the DMA prohibits parity clauses, which means that hotels, car rental companies, and other travel service providers should be free to offer different prices and terms on their own websites or through other channels, without being bound by Booking.com's conditions.

"This means that other platforms and travel service providers can compete under fairer conditions, leading to innovation and lower prices," the Commission said.

It further noted that business users can now choose to transfer data generated on Booking.com to other platforms, enabling them to create more innovative offerings and tailored deals.

"If the Commission considers that Booking's solutions are not compliant with the DMA, it can take formal enforcement actions," it said, adding fines can go up to 20 percent of the company's total worldwide turnover in case of repeated infringements.

The DMA, enacted in 2022, aims to make the European Union's (EU) digital economy fairer and more competitive. Gatekeepers, defined as companies with significant influence on the EU internal market and whose services serve as key gateways for business users to reach end consumers, are subject to the Act's provisions.

  - Xinhua