Experts: U.K. digital market reforms a ‘watershed moment,’ could speed up enforcement

The U.K.’s competition regulator has outlined new plans to regulate Big Tech firms that will enable it to take a much more flexible and proactive approach towards investigations.

The regime, which came into force on Jan. 1 through the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act (DMCCA), allows the Competition Market Authority (CMA) to impose conduct rules on tech firms that it designates as having “strategic market status (SMS).” This means that the CMA can stamp out types of corporate behavior it feels may be anti-competitive and which harm consumers before an infringement notice is issued.

The regulator can also intervene more readily if necessary to open the sector up to more competition if it feels consumers are losing out.

The CMA says the new regime will prevent large tech firms from preferencing their own services or using their access to customer data to give themselves an unfair advantage. It will also make it easier for people to switch digital service providers without losing access to data or content.