UK Launches New Regulator To Prevent Tech Giants From Abusing Market Dominance

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2021) The United Kingdom has launched a new regulator to prevent tech giants such as Facebook and Google from exploiting their market dominance, eliminating competition and curbing the development of online innovations, the UK government said on Wednesday.

According to the press release, the so-called Digital Markets Unit (DMU), based in the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), will first look at how codes of conduct could work in practice to govern relations between big tech companies and groups such as content providers and advertisers that are using online platforms to reach their potential customers.

"The unit will work closely with the CMA enforcement teams already taking action to address practices by digital firms, which harm competition and lead to poor outcomes for consumers and businesses. This includes taking enforcement action against Google and Apple, and scrutinising mergers involving Facebook and eBay," the press release read.

The UK government is expected to consult on the design of the "new pro-competition regime" later this year and adopt the necessary legislative acts to put the DMU on a statutory footing.

"Today is a major milestone in the path to creating the world's most competitive online markets, with consumers, entrepreneurs and content publishers at their heart. The Digital Markets Unit has launched and I've asked it to begin by looking at the relationships between platforms and content providers, and platforms and digital advertisers," UK Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said as quoted in the press release.

UK business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng believes that the new pro-competition online regime will help to curb the dominance of tech giants, result in innovation development and allow smaller firms to stay in play.