UK Digital Markets Unit To Tighten, Enforce Big Tech Competition Rules

The British government is establishing a new Digital Markets Unit tasked with enforcing laws that apply to Big Tech companies, such as Google and Facebook, authorities announced in a press release.

The new unit, according to the government’s announcement, will fall within the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the agency that oversees enforcement of antitrust laws. The operation’s purview will include enforcing new regulations governing consumer data privacy and the preservation of small businesses and small- and medium-sized news operations.

In explaining the creation of the new rules and enforcers, authorities wrote in the announcement that technology brings much good, but “there is growing consensus in the U.K. and abroad that the concentration of power amongst a small number of tech companies is curtailing growth in the tech sector, reducing innovation, and potentially having negative impacts on the people and businesses that rely on them.”

The announcement continued: “The new code will set clear expectations for platforms that have considerable market power — known as strategic market status — over what represents acceptable behavior when interacting with competitors and users.”

The new regulations, among other things, will give consumers the right to opt out of personalized advertising and compel companies to disclose more about how they use data about consumers. The rules are set to take effect in April.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said in a prepared statement: “The dominance of just a few big tech companies is leading to less innovation, higher advertising prices and less choice and control for consumers.”

According to the U.K. government, digital business added 150 billion pounds (about $200 billion) to British economy in 2018.

The British efforts come as U.S. tech companies fight increased regulation that seems likely following criticism of business practices from members of Congress.