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UK: Regulator to examine digital advertising

By  |  March 14, 2019

According to a report from the Financial Times, the UK competition regulator will examine online advertising as a “first step” to reframing competition policy in the tech sector, the UK chancellor Philip Hammond has stated.

“As a first step to implementing reforms, I am asking the Competition and Markets Authority to undertake a market study of digital advertising as soon as possible,” he said in his Spring Statement setting out the UK’s economic policy.

In a letter to Andrew Tyrie, the head of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), he added that a study of the market would improve the regulator’s approach to tech mergers. As part of the study, the CMA may make recommendations that businesses spin off certain units.

“The CMA’s expertise and information gathering powers make it uniquely placed to shine a light on this sector, which has been widely described as lacking transparency,” Mr Hammond wrote.

Full Content: Financial Times

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