Britain’s Antitrust Regulator Sets Clearer Path for Big Tech Oversight

Britain’s competition watchdog is sharpening its focus on digital markets with interventions designed to have a “clear and direct” impact on UK consumers and businesses, according to Reuters. The move comes as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) aligns with new strategic guidance from the British government, following criticism that it was not doing enough to support economic growth.

CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell outlined the agency’s revised approach on Monday, highlighting a new framework centered around four key principles: pace, predictability, proportionality, and process. Per Reuters, this strategy will guide the CMA’s oversight of major technology firms as well as its approach to merger control.

The regulator’s powers were expanded in January, granting it authority to investigate technology companies with either a UK turnover exceeding 1 billion pounds ($1.29 billion) or global revenues surpassing 25 billion pounds. According to Reuters, this threshold applies to a select group of firms, including U.S. tech giants Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and Apple, both of which are already under investigation by the CMA.

Related: Tech Giants Challenge Australia’s Social Media Ban Exemption for YouTube

As part of its enhanced oversight, the CMA will introduce a new procedural step: a “roadmap” for potential regulatory interventions for firms designated as having strategic market status. Cardell explained that this roadmap would offer clarity on which issues would be prioritized for early action, which matters would receive lower priority, and which concerns would remain under review.

According to Reuters, the CMA plans to publish roadmaps for its ongoing investigations into search engines and mobile ecosystems in June and July, respectively. Cardell described the regulator’s revised strategy as a “more nuanced approach,” emphasizing its potential to benefit the UK economy. “I think it’s one that creates a real opportunity for the UK,” she said.

Source: Reuters