1. The purpose of this Regulation is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by laying down harmonised rules ensuring for all businesses, contestable and fair markets in the digital sector across the Union where gatekeepers are present, to the benefit of business users and end users.

2. This Regulation shall apply to core platform services provided or offered by gatekeepers to business users established in the Union or end users established or located in the Union, irrespective of the place of establishment or residence of the gatekeepers and irrespective of the law otherwise applicable to the provision of service.

3. This Regulation shall not apply to markets related to:

(a) electronic communications networks as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972;

(b) electronic communications services as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, other than those related to number-independent interpersonal communications services.

4. With regard to interpersonal communications services as defined in Article 2, point (5) of Directive (EU) 2018/1972, this Regulation is without judice to the powers and responsibilities granted to the national regulatory and other competent authorities by virtue of Article 61 of that Directive.

5. In order to avoid the fragmentation of the internal market, Member States shall not impose further obligations on gatekeepers by way of laws, regulations or administrative measures for the purpose of ensuring contestable and fair markets. Nothing in this Regulation precludes Member States from imposing obligations on undertakings, including undertakings providing core platform services, for matters falling outside the scope of this Regulation, provided that those obligations are compatible with Union law and do not result from the fact that the relevant undertakings have the status of a gatekeeper within the meaning of this Regulation.

6. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. It is also without prejudice to the application of:

(a) national competition rules prohibiting anti-competitive agreements, decisions by associations of undertakings, concerted practices and abuses of dominant positions;

(b) national competition rules prohibiting other forms of unilateral conduct insofar as they are applied to undertakings other than gatekeepers or amount to the imposition of additional obligations on gatekeepers; and

(c) Council Regulation (EC) No 139/200423 and national rules concerning merger control.

7. National authorities shall not take decisions which run counter to a decision adopted by the Commission under this Regulation. The Commission and Member States shall work in close cooperation and coordinate their enforcement actions on the basis of the principles established in Articles […] and […].

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘Gatekeeper’ means an undertaking providing core platform services, designated pursuant to Article 3;

(2) ‘Core platform service’ means any of the following:

(a) online intermediation services;

(b) online search engines;

(c) online social networking services;

(d) video-sharing platform services;

(e) number-independent interpersonal communications services;

(f) operating systems;

(g) web browsers;

(h) virtual assistants;

(i) cloud computing services;

(j) online advertising services, including any advertising networks, advertising exchanges and any other advertising intermediation services, provided by an undertaking that provides any of the core platform services listed in points (a) to (I);

(3) ‘Information society service’ means any ‘service’ as defined in Article 1(1), point (b), of Directive (EU) 2015/1535;

(4) ‘Digital sector’ means the sector of products and services provided by means of, or through, information society services;

(5) ‘Online intermediation services’ means ‘online intermediation services’ as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150;

(6) ‘Online search engine’ means an ‘online search engine’ as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150;

(7) ‘Online social networking service’ means a platform that enables end users to connect and communicate with each other, share content and discover other users and content across multiple devices and, in particular, via chats, posts, videos and recommendations;

(8) ‘Video-sharing platform service’ means a ‘video-sharing platform service’ as defined in Article 1(1), point (aa), of Directive 2010/13/EU;

(9) ‘Number-independent interpersonal communications service’ means a ‘number-independent interpersonal communications service’ as defined in Article 2, point (7), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972;

(10) ‘Operating system’ means a system software that controls the basic functions of the hardware or software and enables software applications to run on it;

(11) ‘Web browser’ means a software application that enables end users to access and interact with web content hosted on servers that are connected to networks such as the Internet, including standalone web browsers as well as web browsers integrated or embedded in software or similar;

(12) ‘Virtual assistant’ means a software that can process demands, tasks or questions, including those based on audio, visual, written input, gestures or motions, and that, based on those demands, tasks or questions, provides access to other services or controls connected or physical devices;

(13) ‘Cloud computing service’ means a ‘cloud computing service’ as defined in Article 4, point (19), of Directive (EU) 2016/1148 of the European Parliament and of the Council24;

(14) ‘Software application stores’ means a type of online intermediation services, which is focused on software applications as the intermediated product or service;

(15) ‘Software application’ means any digital product or service that runs on an operating system;

(16) ‘Payment service’ means a ‘payment service’ as defined in Article 4, point (3) of Directive (EU) 2015/2366;

(17) ‘Technical service supporting payment service’ means a service within the meaning of Article 3, point (j), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366;

(18) ‘Payment system for in-app purchases’ means a software application, service or user interface which facilitates purchases of digital content or digital services within a software application, including content, subscriptions, features or functionality, and the payments for such purchases;

(19) ‘Identification service’ means a type of service provided together with or in support of core platform services that enables any type of verification of the identity of end users or business users, regardless of the technology used;

(20) ‘End user’ means any natural or legal person using core platform services other than as a business user;

(21) ‘Business user’ means any natural or legal person acting in a commercial or professional capacity using core platform services for the purpose of or in the course of providing goods or services to end users;

(22) ‘Ranking’ means the relative prominence given to goods or services offered through online intermediation services, online social networking services, video-sharing platform services or virtual assistants, or the relevance given to search results by online search engines, as presented, organised or communicated by the undertakings providing online intermediation services, online social networking services, video-sharing platform services, virtual assistants or online search engines, irrespective of the technological means used for such presentation, organisation or communication and irrespective of whether only one result is presented or communicated.

(23) ‘Search results’ means any information in any format, including textual, graphic, vocal or other outputs, returned in response to, and related to, a search query, irrespective of whether the information returned is a paid or an unpaid result, a direct answer or any product, service or information offered in connection with the organic results, or displayed along with or partly or entirely embedded in them;

(24) ‘Data’ means any digital representation of acts, facts or information and any compilation of such acts, facts or information, including in the form of sound, visual or audiovisual recording;

(25) ‘Personal data’ means personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;

(26) ‘Non-personal data’ means data other than personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;

(27) ‘Undertaking’ means an entity engaged in an economic activity, regardless of its legal status and the way in which its is financed, including all linked enterprises or connected undertakings that form a group through the direct or indirect control of an enterprise or undertaking by another;

(28) ‘Control’ means the possibility of exercising decisive influence on an undertaking, within the meaning of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004;

(29) ‘Interoperability’ means the ability to exchange information and mutually use the information which has been exchanged through interfaces or other solutions, so that all elements of hardware or software work with other hardware and software and with users in all the ways in which they are intended to function;

(30) ‘Turnover’ means the amount derived by an undertaking within the meaning of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004;

(31) ‘Profiling’ means ‘profiling’ as defined in Article 4, point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;

(32) ‘Consent’ means ‘consent’ as defined in Article 4, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;

(33) ‘National court’ means