Tech giants are targeted

PHiLiP Hammond has called on the uK’s competition watchdog to investigate the murky world of digital advertising.

The Chancellor’s move was in response to a major review that highlighted the dominance of Google and Facebook. it will pile pressure on the two uS tech giants, which rake in around half of Britain’s £13bn online ads market between them.

in a letter to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Hammond said the digital ads sector had been ‘widely described as lacking transparency’.

Hammond told MPs: ‘We need to adapt our regulatory environment to ensure competition works for consumers in the digital market place, as it does in the real market place.’ He has asked the CMA to make clear whether it would investigate soon, after it had suggested it would look at the issue. it follows similar recommendations for a study by House of Commons committees and Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright.

Hammond said he recognised the CMA’s ability to carry out a study could be hampered if there is a no Deal Brexit, which would mean it would have to assume several responsibilities that are handled by eu organisations at short notice. The CMA said its ability to launch new probes was ‘heavily dependent’ on the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

Hammond said: ‘The uK will remain a great place to do digital business but it will be a place where successful global tech giants pay their fair share, where competition policy works in consumers’ interests and where the public are protected from online harms.’