Regulation

DMCC would deal a blow to tech investment


Matthew Lesh writes in City AM

IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh has written for City AM, discussing new research he co-authored which warns that the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill threatens to undermine investment, innovation, and the rule of law.

Matthew wrote:

“The CMA will have the remit to decide which companies are in the regime’s scope, spanning everything from search engines and smartphone software to online shopping, advertising, entertainment, travel and  news. The CMA will then be able to design bespoke interventions for each entity without needing to prove that consumers will benefit.

“The potential consequences are vast. The easiest way for companies to avoid falling foul of the new regime and incurring hefty fines (10 per cent of global revenue) will be to stop developing new products in the UK or delay new features for British users. 

“Worryingly, the CMA’s decisions will only be reviewable under the ‘judicial review’ standard, based on whether they followed the correct process rather than the underlying merits of any decision. Sir Jonathan Jones, former head of the Government Legal Service, and Verity Egerton-Doyle warn this means turning the CMA into ‘legislator, investigator and executioner’.”

Read Matthew’s full piece here.

Read more about Digital Overload, new researched co-published by the IEA on how the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill’s sweeping new powers threaten Britain’s economy, here.



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