[ad_1]
A new tech regulator will work to limit the power of Google, Facebook and other tech platforms, the government announced, in an effort to ensure a level playing field for smaller competitors and a fair market for consumers.
According to plans, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will obtain a dedicated Digital Markets Unit, empowered to draft and enforce a new code of practice for technology companies that will set the limits of acceptable behavior.
The code will only affect those companies that are deemed to have “strategic market status,” although what that means or what restrictions will be imposed has yet to be decided.
Commercial Secretary Alok Sharma said: “Digital platforms like Google and Facebook make a significant contribution to our economy and play an important role in our daily lives, whether it is helping us stay in touch with loved ones, sharing creative content or access the latest news.
But the dominance of a few large tech companies is leading to less innovation, higher advertising prices, and fewer choice and control for consumers. Our new pro-competition regime for digital markets will ensure that consumers have choices and prevent smaller companies from being kicked out. “
The government’s plans come in response to a CMA investigation that began as a narrow look at the digital advertising industry, but was later expanded to cover the market dominance of Google and Facebook. The code will seek to mediate between platforms and news publishers, for example, to try to ensure that they can monetize their content; It may also require platforms to give consumers the option of receiving personalized advertising or force them to work harder to improve the way they operate with rival platforms.
Andrea Coscelli, executive director of the CMA, welcomed the move. “Only through a new pro-competitive regulatory regime can we address the market power of tech giants like Facebook and Google and ensure that businesses and consumers are protected.
“We will soon provide advice to the government on how this new regime should work, as requested earlier this year, and we will be ready to support the setup of the Digital Markets Unit.”
Oliver Dowden, Digital Secretary, said: “There is a growing consensus in the UK and abroad that the concentration of power among a small number of tech companies is holding back growth in the sector, reducing innovation and having negative impacts on the people and companies that trust them. It’s time to tackle that and unleash a new era of tech growth. “
But in trying to impose strict terms on multinational companies, the UK may have an uphill battle on its hands. In France, for example, the US government has viewed digital tax payments on great technologies as unfair discrimination, raising threats of retaliatory tariffs on French products such as handbags and cosmetics.
