The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be granted more powers to regulate the "excessive dominance" of large technology platforms and further protect customers, the government has said.
The changes will be made under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill, which will target firms deemed to hold “strategic market status” - defined as those with a global turnover of over £25bn - and work to prevent unfair business practices, including fake online reviews and difficult-to-cancel subscriptions.
Under the draft law, major tech firms will receive strict customer protection rules and could face the threat of multibillion-pound fines should they breach them.
The legislation will aim to strengthen the Digital Markets Unit (DMU), a section of the CMA launched in 2020. The DMU was originally expected to be given powers to devise codes of conduct for tech companies and impose fines of up to 10 per cent of annual...