Key Facts

• Professor Amelia Fletcher is a non-executive director at the Competition and Markets Authority.
• The Furman review was initiated by Jason Furman, who chaired the expert panel on digital competition.
• Philip Marsden serves as deputy chair for enforcement at the Bank of England.
• The Digital Markets Unit would enforce existing anti-trust measures more explicitly and quickly.
• Interoperability, data portability, and data access are considered intrusive interventions but necessary for a proper innovative environment.
• The legislation is designed to be targeted at barriers to innovation identified by experts.
• The UK is leading in proposing bespoke, nuanced legislation to address competitive structure problems.
• Open banking served as a natural experiment demonstrating the potential impact of pro-competitive rules on large platforms.
• Other jurisdictions are looking at and implementing similar measures due to political trends around the world.
• Professor Fletcher discusses the EU regulation approach which includes quantitative thresholds.
• The bespoke and evidence-based UK approach is highlighted.
• There is a concern about losing administrability and enforceability if tiny changes are made to legislation.
• Professor Furman supports having a body that approaches decisions transparently and predictably.
• In the US, Congress would oversee regulatory bodies at a strategic level rather than on individual cases.
• Professor Fletcher agrees with concerns about discretion but notes the CMA's serious approach to its responsibilities.
• Rushanara Ali welcomes Noyona Chundur, Peter Eisenegger, and Tracey Reilly as witnesses.
• Seema Malhotra asks Ms Chundur about the adequacy of the Bill in addressing consumer detriment in digital markets.
• The Consumer Council has dealt with over 33,000 consumers showing complex needs related to vulnerability.
• The Government's research estimates that 81% of UK households signed up to at least one subscription last year.
• Consumers are spending £1.6 billion per year on subscriptions they do not want.
• One consumer reported taking six months to cancel a trial subscription.
• The Bill aims to address incomplete or inaccurate information presented to consumers.
• Electrical Safety First is concerned about online retailers' responsibility for product safety.
• Class actions such as those against Mastercard and Amazon serve as current enforcement measures.
• Consumer expectations include protection from fraud, mis-selling, and damage during installation in new digital markets.
• Schedule 18 omits arguably unfair commercial practices like drip pricing and misleading green advertising.
• The Bill includes a power for the Secretary of State to amend the schedule by regulation with safeguards in place.
• Existing regulators have powers to tackle issues such as greenwashing, but more work is needed on consumer trust during the net zero transition.
• £1.6 billion per year is spent on unwanted subscriptions.
• AI technology complicates the identification and regulation of fake reviews.
• There are differences in market operations between England and Scotland that need consideration.
• The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill aims to regulate digital markets.
• There is a focus on ensuring that the bill addresses regional differences in the UK.
• A communications campaign is fundamental to informing consumers about their new rights under the bill.
• The Bill aims to balance flexibility with future-proofing.
• It sets out regulatory objectives without being overly prescriptive compared to other jurisdictions like the EU's Digital Markets Act.
• Implementation may take until at least 2025, but the CMA is prepared and resourceful.
• Rushanara Ali concludes a session of oral evidence.
• Graham Wynn introduces himself as assistant director for consumer competition and regulatory affairs at the British Retail Consortium.
• Seema Malhotra asks about main consumer issues in the retail industry that the Bill should address.
• Trading standards resources have dropped by 50% over the years.
• The Bill's focus on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) may further reduce trading standards' visibility.
• There are concerns about fake reviews not being banned explicitly in the Bill.
• Max von Thun is Europe director at Open Markets Institute, a competition policy think-tank.
• The legislation currently stands as very strong according to Open Markets Institute recommendations.
• Campaigning from larger platforms has targeted the review standard and countervailing benefits exemption.
• The Bill targets only a few dominant firms.
• Conduct requirements aim to stamp out anti-competitive practices.
• PCIs allow for interoperability and data opening to inject competition into the market.
• John Herriman is the chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.
• David MacKenzie works for Highland Council on trading standards and has a role with CTSI across the UK.
• The speaker welcomes the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
• Trading standards has been hit by about 50% cuts over the last decade.
• Regulatory services have faced about 25% cuts according to the latest National Audit Office report.
• The Bill introduces a range of potential punitive sanctions that can be imposed on businesses.
• Owen Meredith is CEO of the News Media Association representing local, regional, and national news media.
• Peter Wright is editor emeritus of DMG Media, a major British and international news publisher.
• Dan Conway is CEO of the Publishers Association representing publishers of books, journals, and educational materials.
• The imbalance between news publishers and platforms is self-evident, with over 70% of local market consumers and over 80% of national market consumers reading news online.
• There are concerns about the final offer mechanism being overly complex, specifically stage 8 which involves information sharing.
• Tech companies may use lobbying as a delaying tactic to challenge every decision by the Digital Markets Unit in court.
• Dan Conway believes Amazon should be assigned strategic market status due to its dominant position in book sales.
• Amazon sells over 50% of print books and about 90% of e-books and audiobooks in the UK market, indicating significant market power.
• Publishers face 'take it or leave it' terms when negotiating with Amazon.