Th3 Core

The CMA has proposed that within the new regime a ‘Digital Markets Unit’ should have the ability to:

    enforce a code of conduct to ensure that platforms with a position of market power, like Google and Facebook, do not engage in exploitative or exclusionary practices, or practices likely to reduce trust and transparency, and to impose fines if necessary.

    order Google to open up its click and query data to rival search engines to allow them to improve their algorithms so they can properly compete. This would be designed in a way that does not involve the transfer of personal data to avoid privacy concerns.

    order Facebook to increase its interoperability with competing social media platforms. Platforms would need to secure consumer consent for the use of any of their data.

    restrict Google’s ability to secure its place as the default search engine on mobile devices and browsers in order to introduce more choice for users.

    order Facebook to give consumers a choice over whether to receive personalised advertising.

    introduce a “fairness-by-design” duty on the platforms to ensure that they are making it as easy as possible for users to make meaningful choices.

    order the separation of platforms where necessary to ensure healthy competition.

1 July 2020: We have published the final report of our market study into online platforms and digital advertising. We have found that competition is not working well in these markets, leading to substantial harm for consumers and society as a whole.

We recommend that the government passes legislation to establish a new pro-competition regulatory regime.

Google explained that removing all Wikipedia results from the Google Search results would cause Google’s Information Satisfaction number to drop by 0.6 points.