Under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a Core Platform Service (CPS) is a specific digital service category that acts as an important gateway between business users and consumers.
The DMA does not regulate tech companies as monolithic entities; instead, the European Commission designates and enforces rules on a service-by-service basis. A tech giant is classified as a Gatekeeper only if one or more of its specific offerings qualify as a designated Core Platform Service that meets DMA user and revenue thresholds.
The 10 Statutory Categories of Core Platform Services
Article 2(2) of the Digital Markets Act identifies 10 distinct categories of digital products that can be designated as a Core Platform Service:
- Online Intermediation Services: Digital marketplaces, app stores, and booking engines (e.g., Google Play, Apple App Store, Amazon Marketplace, Booking.com).
- Online Search Engines: Indexing and search tools (e.g., Google Search).
- Online Social Networking Services: Social platforms enabling connection and content sharing (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn).
- Video-Sharing Platform Services: Video hosting and discovery networks (e.g., YouTube).
- Number-Independent Interpersonal Communications Services (NIICS): Direct messaging platforms not tied to traditional phone numbers (e.g., WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger).
- Operating Systems: Core system software powering mobile, tablet, or desktop devices (e.g., Android, iOS, iPadOS, Windows PC OS).
- Web Browsers: Client software used to render the web (e.g., Google Chrome, Apple Safari).
- Virtual Assistants: Voice and AI interface assistants (e.g., Siri, Alexa).
- Cloud Computing Services: Scalable cloud infrastructure and storage solutions (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
- Online Advertising Services: Ad exchanges, ad servers, and demand/supply platforms operated by a platform owner (e.g., Google Ads, Meta Ads, Amazon Advertising).
Currently Designated CPS Units Across Gatekeepers
The European Commission has designated 23 specific Core Platform Services across 7 major corporate Gatekeepers:
| Gatekeeper | Designated Core Platform Services (CPS) |
| Alphabet | Google Search, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, YouTube, Android, Google Chrome, Alphabet Online Advertising |
| Amazon | Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Advertising |
| Apple | iOS, iPadOS, App Store, Safari |
| Booking.com | Booking.com Online Intermediation |
| ByteDance | TikTok |
| Meta | Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Meta Ads |
| Microsoft | Windows PC OS, LinkedIn |
Crucial Exclusion: Services that met numeric user thresholds but were found not to act as an entrenched gateway were exempted from CPS obligations by the EU Commission. Examples of non-designated services include Microsoft Bing, Microsoft Outlook.com, Apple iMessage, and Gmail.
How CPS Status Shapes Martech & AdTech Operations
Because DMA obligations attach specifically to individual Core Platform Services, digital marketers face distinct operational mandates depending on the CPS being utilized:
1. Cross-CPS Data Firewalls
Gatekeepers are prohibited from pooling personal data across two different CPS units (or between a CPS and a non-CPS) unless the end user explicitly opts in to GDPR consent.
- Impact: Meta cannot combine user browsing data from WhatsApp (CPS) into Meta Ads (CPS) targeting profiles without explicit user permission.
2. Mandatory Consent Signals for Ad Ecosystems
To protect their ad-network CPS units (Google Ads, Meta Ads, Amazon Ads), gatekeepers require advertisers to pass verified consent flags (such as Google Consent Mode v2) via API. Failure to pass these signals prevents advertisers from building retargeting lists or utilizing conversion modeling within the EU.
3. API Access and Independent Measurement
Gatekeepers operating advertising CPS units must provide advertisers and publishers with free, daily, granular performance reporting and tool access so marketers can perform independent ad verification rather than relying on walled-garden metrics.
4. Anti-Self-Preferencing in Search & Intermediation
Search engines and marketplace CPS units (e.g., Google Search, Amazon Marketplace) cannot prioritize their own affiliated products or proprietary services over third-party businesses in search result rankings or product carousels.
