Microsoft starts rollout of Windows DMA compliance changes in Europe

Microsoft has started the rollout of Windows changes for users in the European Economic Area to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The company says that the rollout has started on March 6, 2024 already. Most Windows 10 and 11 users from the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) will get these changes by April 2024.

Those who cannot wait to get them may enable the Get Windows updates as soon as they're available for your device option in Windows Update to get them earlier according to Microsoft. Tests on several Windows 10 and 11 devices in the European Union came up empty at the time of writing though. It seems that even this option is limited by Microsoft currently.

The DMA and its impact on Windows

The Digital Markets Act is a law that is designed to prevent major Internet companies from using their market power for unfair advantages in the market.

Six so-called gatekeepers were designated by the European Commission in 2023. The companies -- Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, and Meta -- operate 22 core platform services.

Microsoft's Windows PC operating system is such a platform. To comply with the DMA, Microsoft had to implement changes to Windows. These changes give users more choice. One of them, for instance, gives users the option to uninstall Microsoft Edge and Bing from Windows.

Chris Nelson, Microsoft Head of the DMA Compliance Function, detailed these in a blog post last week. Nelson divides the changes into design and data handling changes.

As far as design changes are concerned, Nelson confirms that users from the EEA will be able to uninstall Microsoft's Edge web browser and Bing web search functionality on their Windows devices. These removals work identical to other uninstallations on the devices. In other words, users may go to Settings > Apps to remove the components from Windows.

Note: it is recommended to install another browser prior to removing Microsoft Edge from the operating system. I have described what happens when you don't here.

Besides removing Edge and Bing web search, Microsoft is unlocking the Windows taskbar and the widgets panel for third-party web applications and news feeds. It is possible that other news providers, for example Google or Yahoo, may create plugins for Windows's widgets panel.

The third change affects the process of signing-in to Windows with a Microsoft account. Windows signed-in users into other Microsoft products automatically in the past. The automated process is blocked for users from the EEA.

Nelson lists two changes to the handling of data. Third-party applications data collected from Windows PCs in the EEA will "not be used for any competitive purpose against the app providers" according to Microsoft.

The second change introduces redesigned data flows to inform users when Microsoft combines data from Windows with data from other Microsoft products and services.

Closing Words

The changes are introduced only in the European Economic Area and not in other regions or countries. There are ways around this though. More options will likely come to light once the changes have landed on more systems in the EEA.

Microsoft is not addressing other points of criticism. The requirement to sign-in or create a Microsoft account during setup, for instance, is not touched. While you can still set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account, it is not an option that Windows 11 highlights to the user during setup.

Now You: what is your take on these changes?