The livestream for this event is now available by clicking here.

On March 5, 2024, the EU office in San Francisco hosted a Brussels to the Bay event on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The presentation, attended by 60 in-person participants, focused on the DMA legislation and the role of gatekeepers in a post-DMA ecosystem.

Participants stressed the importance of a fair and contestable market, ensuring that platforms that act progressively as gatekeepers to others behave fairly. The panel discussion emphasized the DMA’s potential for more innovation and investments in Europe. The discussion that followed highlighted the opportunities provided by the DMA, such as the possibility of real choice for end users and transnational collaboration.

EU

Meet the Speakers

Rita Wezenbeek, Director, Platforms Policy and Enforcement, DG CNECT, European Commission

Rita Wezenbeek is Director of Platforms Policy and Enforcement in DG CONNECT. The Platforms Directorate is in charge of policies and regulations applicable to online intermediary services, including the supervision of the implementation and enforcement of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act (the latter jointly with DG COMP). These two new Regulations establish strong rules to ensure a safe, fair and open platform economy for European citizens and businesses, and give the Commission significant regulatory powers over “gatekeepers” and very large platforms and search engines.

Rita joined the European Commission in 2002. Before moving to DG CONNECT in December 2020, she was the head of the units dealing with Anti-Trust and Telecommunications (2017-2020) and Retail Financial Services and Payment Systems (2010-2017) in DG Competition.

Before joining the Commission, Rita worked for sixteen years as a private lawyer, specialized in European and corporate law, in a Dutch/ Belgian law firm. She also was a Member of the Commission on European Integration, an independent advisory body on foreign policy to the Dutch government and Parliament.

Paula L. Blizzard, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Section, California Department of Justice

Paula Blizzard is a Senior Assistant Attorney General at the California Attorney General's office, and leads the state's antitrust section. She supervises all the AG’s non-healthcare antitrust work, including technology, oil & gas, agriculture, airlines, and merger matters. Prior to joining the AG’s Office, she was a Deputy Bureau Chief for Enforcement at the Federal Communications Commission, a partner at Keker, Van Nest and Peters in San Francisco, and a trial attorney at the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Blizzard had a career in aerospace as a NASA contractor working on space station design and NASA’s early use of the internet.

Luther Lowe, Head of Public Policy, Y Combinator

Luther Lowe is currently the Head of Public Policy at Y Combinator, where he fights for little tech in the public policy arena. Prior to his time at Y Combinator, he was the Senior Vice President of Public Policy at Yelp. Lowe’s career has been marked by his advocacy for competition policy, open data, and consumer free speech. Lowe’s work has earned him recognition, including being named to Vanity Fair’s ‘New Establishment’ list and being listed among Washington DC’s 500 most influential people. Lowe’s background also includes serving as an aide to retired NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark and working on various Democratic campaigns.

Moderator: Chris Riley, Executive Director, Data Transfer Initiative

Chris Riley is the executive director of the nonprofit Data Transfer Initiative and a distinguished research fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, he was senior resident fellow for internet governance at the think tank R Street Institute, director of policy at the Mozilla Corporation, and a senior internet freedom program manager at the U.S. Department of State, among other positions. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.