The European Commission and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) have published the responses received during a public consultation on draft joint guidelines explaining how the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) interact in practice.
The consultation drew more than 100 submissions from a wide range of stakeholders, including technology companies, small and medium-sized businesses, trade associations, consumer organisations, academics, law firms and individual citizens. According to the Commission and the EDPB, the high level of participation reflects strong interest in clearer guidance on how the EU’s competition and data protection frameworks should operate together in digital markets.
The two regulations pursue different but complementary objectives. The GDPR focuses on protecting individuals’ personal data and ensuring its free movement across the EU, while the DMA aims to ensure fair and contestable digital markets by imposing specific obligations on large online platforms designated as “gatekeepers.”
Because many gatekeepers rely heavily on data-driven business models, their activities often fall under both regimes. The draft guidelines therefore aim to ensure that the DMA and the GDPR are interpreted consistently and applied in a way that allows both frameworks to achieve their goals without undermining one another.
The guidance focuses on areas where the overlap between the two regimes is most significant. These include rules on obtaining valid user consent before combining personal data across services, data portability rights for users and authorised third parties, access to data by business users, and interoperability obligations for communication services.
The draft guidelines also highlight the need for close cooperation between regulators. While the Commission is responsible for enforcing the DMA, national data protection authorities oversee the GDPR. Coordination between these bodies is considered essential to ensure consistent enforcement and avoid conflicting interpretations.
The Commission and the EDPB are now reviewing the consultation responses to assess whether changes to the draft guidance are needed. The final joint guidelines are expected to be adopted in the last quarter of 2026 and are intended to provide greater legal certainty for businesses and users navigating the EU’s evolving digital regulatory framework.