The world’s largest tech companies will soon face stricter competition requirements in the UK, including algorithmic transparency and supporting competitors’ products.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today published its policy paper outlining how it will approach its expanded role in regulator large tech companies, following a request from ministers.
The goal of the new regulatory regime is to prevent large tech companies from using their status to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
The paper explained that the CMA intends to apply the new rules to just a small number of large digital companies.
Determining which firms should fall under the scope of the bill will be done by the regulator based on strict criteria and an evidence-based investigation. Relevant firms will be referred to as having strategic market status (SMS).
The CMA said that new conduct requirements for relevant firms could include preventing SMS firms from preferencing their own products and services, requiring SMS firms to allow competitors’ products to work with their own and mandating SMS firms to increase algorithm transparency.
Recent CMA investigations into Big Tech firms include Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.
The CMA said it expects to start three to four SMS investigations within the first year of the new regime.
The bill is expected to enter the committee stage from 22 January.
The release of the paper coincides with a visit from CMA executives to Silicon Valley to meet relevant digital firms to explain how the new regime will operate.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell will speak at the annual Concurrences Tech Antitrust Conference in California.
“Competitive digital markets are a key driver for investment and innovation, supporting the growth of the UK economy, and bringing huge benefits to UK businesses and consumers,” Cardell will say.
“The new digital markets competition regime will help ensure that tech challenger firms can bring forward genuinely disruptive and exciting new innovations that will create great new products for consumers.
“The new powers it will grant the CMA are substantial and we are committed to taking a targeted, evidence-based and proportionate approach to implementing them.”