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EU United Kingdom The Courts

UK Law Will Let Regulators Fine Big Tech Without Court Approval (theverge.com) 34

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.

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UK Law Will Let Regulators Fine Big Tech Without Court Approval

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  • 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.

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      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.

      • 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...

  • 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.

  • 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.

"The pathology is to want control, not that you ever get it, because of course you never do." -- Gregory Bateson

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