The UK launched a new regulatory body aimed at policing allegations of anticompetitive behavior among the world’s largest technology companies, adding another agency to a growing list of watchdogs scrutinizing how tech giants use their market heft.
Britain’s new Digital Markets Unit will be tasked with making sure tech giants like Facebook and Alphabet’s Google don’t exploit any market dominance to crowd out competition, officials said. The new unit was unveiled last year but launched officially—with limited powers at first—late Tuesday, April 6.
It won’t be able to levy fines until Parliament approves legislation governing its oversight power, a legal framework that is expected to be in place by next year. Meanwhile, the agency is hiring staff and will begin drawing up what would become a legally binding code of conduct for companies once that legislation passes.
The new UK unit comes amid Europe’s biggest expansion of global tech regulation in years. The continent has often led the world in regulating technology companies, but Washington and Beijing have both begun to increase their own scrutiny recently. The US filed two major antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook in December. The two companies have argued that they don’t abuse their market power.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
EU Conducts First-Ever Raids on a Company Under Foreign Subsidies Regulation
Apr 23, 2024 by
CPI
FTC Moves to Ban Non-Compete Agreements, Aiming to Boost Labor Mobility
Apr 23, 2024 by
CPI
Federal Judge Nods at $418M Deal in Real Estate Antitrust Suit
Apr 23, 2024 by
CPI
Mexican Watchdog Probes Amazon and Mercado Libre Over Loyalty Bundles
Apr 23, 2024 by
CPI
Competition Commission of India to Probe AI Landscape for Competition
Apr 23, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI