New Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act – everything you need to know

On 24 May 2024 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC Act) received Royal Assent. The Act is long awaited, having been delayed by parliamentary priorities and timing considerations. Following the announcement of the UK parliamentary elections, which will take place on 4 July 2024, the Bill was pushed through Parliament under the “wash-up” process, an accelerated procedure to save the legislation from falling once Parliament is dissolved.

The scope and implications of the DMCC Act are wide-ranging, and follow on both from a previous consultation on changes to the UK competition and consumer protection regimes, and proposals for a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. The key reforms introduced by the DMCC Act include:

• Implementing the UK’s new digital markets regime, which will see the most powerful technology firms with strategic market status having their conduct regulated by the CMA and being subject to a new mandatory merger reporting requirement;
• Significant changes to the UK’s competition law regime, such as introducing a new merger control threshold and strengthening the CMA’s enforcement powers (including tougher penalties for failing to comply with statutory information requests); and
• Substantially strengthening the CMA’s role in the enforcement of consumer protection legislation, including enabling it to enforce legislation directly against companies rather than going through the courts. The DMCC Act also includes enhanced consumer protection rights, ensuring they keep pace with market developments, in particular the trend towards online retail and advertising.

This briefing note provides an overview of the three core parts of the legislation: the new digital markets regime, the changes to the UK competition, mergers and markets regime and the reform of the UK consumer protection regime.

Click here to read the full briefing.