CMS interactive Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer law regulatory hub

The DMCC Bill received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, shortly before the dissolution of UK Parliament.

• Part 1 sets out the UK’s new ‘flagship’ regime for regulating digital markets.
• Part 2 contains a number of significant reforms to UK competition law, including merger control and competition enforcement.
• Parts 3 & 4 set out the CMA’s significant new powers (including powers to issue substantial fines) to enforce breaches of consumer protection law, and contain new consumer law requirements (including regarding subscription contracts and unfair commercial practices).
• Part 5 introduces, amongst other things, new antitrust powers to scrutinise motor fuels prices.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be responsible for implementing and enforcing the DMCC Act.

The CMA will be issuing guidance and consultation documents on various aspects of the new regime over the coming months.

The new digital regulatory regime will give the CMA a powerful new toolkit to pre-emptively regulate a small number of firms designated as having ‘Strategic Market Status’ (SMS). Once a firm is designated as having SMS, the CMA will have the power to impose ‘Conduct Requirements’ specifying how it will behave. 

The CMA will also be able to impose ‘Pro-Competition Interventions’ where it considers it appropriate to do so. 

In addition, SMS firms will be obliged to report certain merger activity to the CMA prior to completion.  

The new regime for SMS firms is only expected to apply to a small number of businesses which meet certain conditions regarding their position and market power in digital activity.

 Please contact the CMS team for more information and guidance.

The DMCC Act introduces a number of significant changes to UK to competition law. Most notably it will:

• introduce a new jurisdictional threshold targeting acquisitions which may reduce dynamic competition or inhibit the development of new products or services;
• introduce a new merger control regime for acquisitions of newspaper publications by foreign states;
• implement the energy networks merger regime anticipated by the Energy Act 2023; and
• widen the CMA’s existing investigation and enforcement powers in antitrust investigations.

From a consumer protection law perspective, the CMA will be able to directly enforce consumer laws, with new powers to fine businesses up to 10% of global turnover for UK consumer law breaches.

The DMCC Act will also introduce prescriptive new rules on subscription contracts and replaces the current rules on unfair commercial practices with more stringent rules (including new prohibitions on drip pricing and certain practices relating to fake reviews). 

The CMA has confirmed that it will be issuing guidance and consultation documents on various aspects of the new regime in the coming months.
The CMA has already published a consultation on a draft guidance package to support the implementation of this new digital regulatory regime. 

The UK government has confirmed that the expected timetable for implementation of the DMCCA regime will be as follows:

1 January 2025: The new digital markets regime and provisions relating to UK competition law reform, including changes to merger control thresholds – see The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Commencement No. 1 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024

April 2025: New direct enforcement powers for consumer protection and provisions relating to unfair trading protections & new savings schemes

Spring 2026 at the earliest: New rules regarding subscription contracts

Several key steps will be necessary before implementation can take place, including scrutiny of relevant secondary legislation and approval of draft guidance.

The CMS team are available to answer your questions and help you navigate the changes to the UK’s digital markets, competition and consumer regulatory landscape brought about by the DMCC Act.

Please click the “Contact Us” box below to reach out to the team.