Forced to change: Tech giants bow to global onslaught of regulations

By Thursday, Google will have changed how it displays certain search results.

- ADAM SATARIANO & DAVID MCCABE

Microsoft will no longer force Windows customers to use its Bing internet search tool. And Apple will give iPhone and iPad users access to rival app stores and payment systems for the first time.

The tech giants have been preparing ahead of a Wednesday deadline to comply with a new European Union law intended to increase competition in the digital economy. The law, called the Digital Markets Act, requires the biggest tech companies to overhaul how some of their products work so smaller rivals can gain more access to their users.

"This is a turning point," said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission executive vice president in Brussels, who spent much of the past decade battling with tech giants. "Selfregulation is over."

For decades, Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta barreled forward with few rules and limits. Now the global tipping point for reining in the largest tech companies has finally tipped. The firms have been forced to alter the everyday technology they offer, including devices and features of their social media services, which have been especially noticeable to users in Europe.