UK Digital Markets Act: A New Law With an Immediate and Powerful Impact

The UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is no mere paper tiger; it’s a new law that is having an immediate and powerful impact, with Google serving as its first high-profile demonstration. The swift designation of the tech giant with “strategic market status” shows the legislation is designed for speed and decisive action.
Unlike old competition laws that required years of investigation to prove past harms, the new Act is forward-looking and proactive. The “strategic market status” (SMS) regime allows the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) to identify a dominant company and impose rules on its future behavior to prevent competitive harm before it happens.
The law grants the CMA a formidable toolkit. It can create binding “conduct requirements” tailored to each designated firm, backed by the power to levy fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover. This financial threat ensures that even the world’s largest companies will take the new regime seriously.
The designation of Google just months after the Act came into force sends a clear message to the rest of the tech industry that the CMA intends to use its new powers fully and without delay. The ongoing investigation into Apple and Google’s mobile platforms further underscores this intent.
This Act fundamentally rewires the relationship between the regulator and the UK’s most powerful digital firms. It marks a shift from a reactive, case-by-case approach to one of continuous, proactive oversight. For the UK’s digital markets, it is the beginning of a whole new ball game.