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UK: CMA targets companies for using big data to harm customers

 |  October 1, 2018

The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is looking for companies which are using big data to rip off vulnerable consumers after Greg Clark, business secretary, said he would trigger a far-reaching review into business practices related to big data, reported the Financial Times.

Mr Clark has asked Andrew Tyrie, head of the CMA, to advise him on an overhaul of Britain’s business regulation, for which he said he was ready to legislate. The business secretary said there were warning signs in the way companies had used personal data to exploit customers, such as energy groups imposing higher charges on loyal customers, who failed to shop around.

Lord Tyrie said the CMA had done “a lot of thinking” about how to reform Britain’s regulatory regime.

“The most effective competition bodies will be those that respond to the rapid growth in these new markets,” he said, adding that millions of consumers would enjoy greater choice thanks to technology, while others would still be vulnerable to “exploitation.”

Full Content: Financial Times

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