The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (c. 13) is an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It amends the

Competition Act 1998 The Competition Act 1998 (c. 41) is the current major source of competition law in the United Kingdom, along with the Enterprise Act 2002. The act provides an updated framework for identifying and dealing with restrictive business practices and a ...

and the

Enterprise Act 2002 The Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which made major changes to UK competition law with respect to mergers and also changed the law governing insolvency bankruptcy. It made cartels illegal with a ma ...

. A government press release described it as an act to "stamp out unfair practices and promote competition in digital markets". The act also introduced significant reforms to the enforcement of

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

laws. The act further bans subscription traps, fake reviews and

drip pricing In online retail, drip pricing (also known as partitioned pricing or shrouded pricing) is a sales technique where a headline price is advertised at the beginning of the purchase process, followed by the incremental disclosure of additional fees, ta ...

. Amendments at Third Reading in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

banned foreign states from having control or influence in the UK media. The act gives statutory definitions to different things including subscription contracts. In respect of digital markets regulation, it is the British counterpart to the European Union's

Digital Markets Act The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is an EU regulation that aims to make the digital economy fairer and more contestable. The regulation entered into force on 1 November 2022 and became applicable, for the most part, on 2 May 2023. The DMA aims t ...

and empowers the

Competition and Markets Authority The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principal competition regulator in the United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair beh ...

(which has established a Digital Markets Unit) to regulate firms designated as having "strategic market status". The bill for the act passed Third Reading in the Lords on 26 March 2024, and received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 24 May 2024. Other than administrative provisions, it will not come into effect until the Secretary of State signs a commencement order.Section 339 Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024

References

External links

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill
page at bills.parliament.uk
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill
Public Bill Committee tracker page at theyworkforyou.com 2023 in British politics United Kingdom competition law E-commerce in the United Kingdom Consumer protection legislation Consumer protection in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2024 {{UK-law-stub

See also

References

External links