The Digital Markets Act (DMA) aims to promote fairness and competition in digital markets by utilizing horizontal interoperability to open up ecosystems of designated gatekeepers. Article 7 of the DMA mandates gatekeepers offering communication services to provide interoperability to other service providers upon request, enabling cross-communication between messaging services.

Additionally, Article 53(2) of the DMA tasks the Commission with assessing the possibility of expanding the scope of interoperability obligations to cover online social networking services.

The study sought through this call for tenders will focus on mapping out technical challenges and solutions for achieving horizontal interoperability among communication services. It will particularly evaluate the feasibility and benefits of extending interoperability requirements to online social networking services, providing practical recommendations based on the latest developments in this area within the DMA framework.

Interested parties can find more details and instructions for submitting tenders on the eTendering portal, with the deadline for submissions set for 31 July 2024 at 16:00 CET.