The U.K. has launched a new regulatory body, tasked with overseeing big tech companies amidst allegations of anti-competitive conduct amongst the world’s largest technology firms.
The new agency, the Digital Marketing Unit, will be given a brief to ensure that companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Apple do not use their market dominance to shut down competition.
The U.K. parliament must still pass legislation to allow the new unit to impose fines on businesses it rules are using such behavior. This legal framework is expected to pass through parliament and be in place by early to mid-2022. In the meantime, the agency is gearing up for business. It has begun hiring staff and is drawing up the legally binding code of conduct that it expects big tech companies to adhere to.
Britain is not alone in introducing measures designed to curb anti-competitive behavior by the tech giants. Europe has recently instituted the biggest expansion of regulation aimed at tech companies in years. The European Union was already known for taking an aggressive stance when it came to imposing regulations on technology companies.
Both the U.S. and China have also recently upped the stakes. In December of last year, the U.S. filed major anti-trust lawsuits against Facebook and Google, a charge that both companies vehemently deny, saying they have never abused their market power.
Also, in America, merchant groups are forming a national coalition aimed at fighting for stricter anti-trust laws. One of the major targets for this group is Amazon, the group wants to see measures imposed that would force Amazon to spin off some of its business lines.
An Amazon spokesperson said that – “the company’s critics are suggesting misguided interventions in the free market.”
The Chinese are also getting in on the act. Last November, the Chinese government unveiled the first draft guidelines of legislation that is aimed at policing the competitive behavior of the tech firms.
The man tasked with heading the U.K.’s new watchdog is Will Hayter, a former regulatory director who over the past year has been heavily involved with the U.K.’s withdrawal from the EU.
Initially, the watchdog will have around 60 staff. For the first year, they will be tasked with gathering evidence from multiple sources including government, businesses, and from amongst academia. Once the legislation has passed, the body will have the power to block mergers, force companies to adhere to the new code of conduct, and levy fines on those who don’t comply.
The U.K. Digital Secretary released a statement in which he said – “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 agency is part of a wider move by the U.K. government aimed at curtailing the power of the tech giants and ensuring that they pay a higher share of taxes in the country.