On 25 April 2023, the UK Government announced the introduction of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the “Bill”) into Parliament.1 The Bill, which reflects a key government priority of increasing consumer choice and competition, provides for:
- Far-reaching new consumer protection powers to be conferred on the Competition & Markets Authority (the “CMA”);
- The introduction of updated merger control and strengthened competition law enforcement powers, including investigation tools better adapted to a digital age; and
- The creation of a new competition law regime aimed at the digital sector, which will impose onerous new obligations on the largest technology companies and enable the CMA to make more rapid and tailored interventions in digital markets than to date.