UK Law Will Let Regulators Fine Big Tech Without Court Approval

Emma Roth reports via The Verge: The UK could subject big tech companies to hefty fines if they don't comply with new rules meant to promote competition in digital markets. On Thursday, lawmakers passed the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (DMCC) through Parliament, which will let regulators enforce rules without the help of the courts. The DMCC also addresses consumer protection issues by banning fake reviews, forcing companies to be more transparent about their subscription contracts, regulating secondary ticket sales, and getting rid of hidden fees. It will also force certain companies to report mergers to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The European Union enacted a similar law, called the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Only the companies the CMA designates as having Strategic Market Status (SMS) have to comply. These SMS companies are described as having "substantial and entrenched market power" and "a position of strategic significance" in the UK. They must have a global revenue of more than 25 billion euros or UK revenue of more than 1 billion euros. The law will also give the CMA the authority to determine whether a company has broken a law, require compliance, and issue a fine -- all without going through the court system. The CMA can fine companies up to 10 percent of the total value of a business's global revenue for violating the new rules.

We have a new villain then?

[Mr. Dollar Ton]

I'm sure all "brexit" fans that cheered UK because it left the "dictatorial" EU that "keeps fining people" will be thrilled by this new UK scheme to plug the budget holes that appeared because of the brexit. Brexit, the wingnut win.

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[skam240]

Have you noticed how AC posters are almost always idiots trying to preserve their account's karma level from their own dumbshit comments?

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[skam240]

No, all you've done is told us the quality of 90% of your posts. Good work.

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[Mr. Dollar Ton]

Well, if the decisions you made on your own are either proven bad, or turn out to be exactly the same as those in the group of your friends that you left, or both, is it such a good idea for *you* to decide? Maybe it is better for *you* to listen more often to those who do make better decisions :)

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[newbie_fantod]

Maybe it is better for *you* to listen more often to those who do make better decisions

It sure would be nice if we could see all the unintended consequences of our decisions with something other than hindsight. Short of time travel, how do we tell who makes the better decisions? Surely you aren't relying on human intelligence and foresight to reliably determine that.

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[Mr. Dollar Ton]

with something other than hindsight.

Phony Stark, is that you calling from Mars? There were many and well-reasoned forewarnings on how the brexit would turn out and that it was a bad decision.

Here's just two examples from 2015 to show they came early enough, and from all across the "political spectrum":

From the venerable John Major himself: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/o... [japantimes.co.jp]

To the venerable Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/po... [theguardian.com]

Re:We have a new villain then?

[AmiMoJo]

Post-brexit we have a choice.

A) Shoot ourselves in the dick by diverging from the EU, creating red tape, paperwork, and barriers to trade.

B) Copy what the EU does anyway, but with less clout.

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[gweihir]

Yep. Sucks for everybody that voted "remain". I have zero compassion for the rest.

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[gweihir]

Actually, I think brexit did less damage than expected (but continues to do damage). The real problem the UK seems to have is clowns (with the last two not even being funny) as "leaders". Brexit is just one part of the things dragging them down.

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[Mr. Dollar Ton]

Not that I disagree, a clown brought the brexit on them because he didn't have any better ideas.

That said, we'll see what Jeremy Corbin comes up with in a few weeks...

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[Briareos]

That said, we'll see what Jeremy Corbin comes up with in a few weeks...

I think you meant Stair Karma...

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[Mr. Dollar Ton]

Did he fell off a window? How very nice of him, how could I miss this news?

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[stikves]

Yep,

We had seen it in the famous Microsoft ABK deal. Yes, not many people like neither of those companies, but they blocked it for invalid reasons. And only after threatened within actual UK courts, they backed down, and saved face saying "this is an entirely new deal", whereas it was at most some superficial makeup.

Anyway, if they can cause harm to trillion dollar companies, with billion dollar lawyers, I don't want to think what they can do to smaller guys with impunity. You small to medium sized startup

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[Anonymous Coward]

There will be no issues for the smaller guys, or the small to medium sized startup, as per TFA:

Only the companies the CMA designates as having Strategic Market Status (SMS) have to comply. These SMS companies are described as having “substantial and entrenched market power” and “a position of strategic significance” in the UK. They must have a global revenue of more than £25 billion or UK revenue of more than £1 billion.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/... [theverge.com]

But what do I know, I'm just an AC.

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[serviscope_minor]

Don't worry, Fujitsu is perfectly safe.

Fuck the UK. California, too, while I'm at it.

[TrentTheThief]

Regulate to your heart's content you idiots.

When Google and other big decide to block UK and California, you'll be living in a digital wasteland.

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[TrentTheThief]

Fo you think those governments are prepared for the huge hole losing Google im their national IT infrastructure will make?

You have no comprehension of how much business relies on Google to work. The number of businesses that exclusively use Google's office suite id astronomical. Not to mention the municipalities using the office stuff.

It's not so black and white as you want. Cutting services to any region will bring thousands og businesses to a standstill.

Google and the other IT biggies have the whiphand. N

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[TrentTheThief]

Fucking mobile keyboard

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[TrentTheThief]

I guess we'll see who owns the biggest pair. Google's shareholders understand the scenario, which you obviously do not. Spend 40 years in finance thne come back talk some more.

This won't be...

[NotAMarshallow]

This won't pass. If it does it won't exist for very long as it flies in the face of world law. Nothing short of a communist, such as K. Harris would allow other countries to extort money from U.S. companies.