New laws to tackle the ‘abuses’ of tech giants
A DIGITAL bill that will rein in ‘big technology’ firms and stop Britons getting ripped off online is to be brought before Parliament in full within the next six months.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt yesterday reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill in the Autumn Statement.
The legislation will empower the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) – a new regulator that will tackle the monopolies of online giants such as Facebook and Google.
It will stop big tech firms from exploiting smaller rivals and bring in tough new laws to protect UK consumers from online scams, fake reviews and subscription traps.
In his Autumn Statement, Mr Hunt said he wanted to harness Britain’s ‘national genius for innovation’ and turn the country into the ‘world’s next Silicon Valley’.
The former tech entrepreneur said history had shown that the ‘most important driver of global success is not tax subsidies but competition’.
He told the Commons: ‘So we will legislate to give the Digital Markets Unit new powers to challenge monopolies and increase the competitive pressure to innovate.’
A Treasury document published alongside Mr Hunt’s statement further outlined the Government’s commitment to bringing the bill before Parliament in the current session, which runs until next May.
It is understood the bill will be introduced in full rather than in draft form as previously expected and will skip pre-legislative scrutiny. The long-awaited legislation will finally give teeth to the DMU, which was launched in shadow form within the Competition and Markets Authority 18 months ago.
Once given powers, it will tackle the dominance of tech giants in sectors such as digital advertising, which currently poses an existential risk to high-quality journalism, and ensure they pay a fair price to news publishers for content.
Firms will have to comply with codes of conduct or face hefty fines of up to 10 per cent of their global turnover.
The News Media Association – which represents local, regional and national publishers – welcomed the Government’s restated commitment to bring forward the Bill.
Chief executive Owen Meredith said the measures were ‘pro-growth and will deliver value for money back to the pockets of consumers’.
He added: ‘As the main investor in trusted journalism in the UK, the news media sector has a vital role to play in our democratic society as we face up to the serious challenges ahead of us.
‘ By acting to give the Digital Markets Unit the teeth it needs to level the playing field between news publishers and the tech platform, government has moved forward with its stated objective of placing journalism on a truly sustainable footing.’
Sarah Cardell, interim chief executive of the CMA, said: ‘Today, the Government has committed to give the DMU the powers it needs to tackle market dominance head on, so that innovation can thrive, businesses big and small can compete fairly and consumers can be confident they’re getting the best deal.’
‘Turn UK into the next Silicon Valley’