The Government should give UK regulators enhanced powers to keep Big Tech under control, according to a new report by MPs from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee.
In his own the reportthe committee urged the government to follow through on plans to turn the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) into a full-fledged competition regulator that could focus on curbing abuses of power by tech giants.
Established in 2021 as a non-statutory body within the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the DMU was created to create a regulatory regime, specifically to provide the largest technology companies with codes of conduct.
The DMU in its current form lacks the powers to fulfill its purpose and requires legislation in the form of the proposed Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Rights Bill, which was briefly mentioned during The Queen’s Speechto start your work properly.
“The Competition, Consumer and Digital Markets Bill has broad support and should be a priority, particularly given the difficulty the government is currently having in passing other more controversial legislation,” BEIS committee chair Darren Jones said.
“There are many areas of the economy where increased competition is needed for the benefit of consumers, small businesses and economic growth, and this bill is an important step in advancing that challenge.”
Jones added that this showed the government’s continued failure to take advantage of “the so-called ‘Brexit opportunities’ that were promised to boost the local community”.
The BEIS Committee’s report comes as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launches a debate on the potential competitive impact of Big Tech on financial services.
The FCA is seeking views on how the presence of tech giants in the UK could disrupt the country’s financial markets.
“In recent years, Big Tech’s entry into the financial services market in the UK and elsewhere has demonstrated their potential to disrupt established markets, drive innovation and lower costs for consumers,” said Sheldon Mills, the FCA’s chief executive of consumer and competition.
“We want to make sure these benefits are fully realized, while at the same time delivering good outcomes for consumers and the market. This is vital as we consider the role of large technology companies in providing key technology infrastructure such as cloud services.”
Ofcom recently launched a study looking into it the dominance of American giants in the cloud computing market.
MPs ask government to give regulator teeth to take on Big Tech
