The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has today
launched a new call for evidence to
scrutinise the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
The Committee is looking at the whether the Bill is likely to
meet the Government’s objectives of improving consumer
protection, providing a new framework to regulate digital markets
and strengthening competition enforcement powers.
The Committee is focusing in particular on Parts 1 and 2 of the
Bill, which deal with digital markets and competition. This is
particularly important as digital markets reportedly have
characteristics that make them more likely to be dominated by a
small number of large firms.
, Chair of the
Committee, said:
“The new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill will be
crucial in providing a fair deal for UK firms and consumers.
Getting this legislation right should not be about bashing Big
Tech. It is about ensuring digital markets provide a level
playing field and the opportunity for innovation to flourish and
consumers enjoy the benefits of greater choice. We are keen to
hear from a range of perspectives from across sector to help us
scrutinise the Bill in detail.”
The Committee is inviting written evidence to be received
by 12 June.
Questions the Committee is inviting evidence on
include:
- To what extent are businesses and consumers affected by
limited competition in digital markets, and what are the
consequences?
- Does the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill
strike the right balance between regulating digital markets and
encouraging innovation?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Bill as regards
regulating digital markets?
- Is the Competition and Markets Authority sufficiently well
prepared to implement the proposed new regime?
- How does the proposed regime compare with the approach taken
in the EU and US?
Notes to Editors
- Written evidence can be submitted online on the Committee’s
online portal here: Call for Evidence - Committees
- UK Parliament
- The Committee yesterday held its first oral evidence session
for this inquiry. The Committee heard evidence from Corie Wright,
Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy, Epic Games; Dirk
Auer, Director of Competition Policy, International Center for
Law & Economics; Mark Scott, Chief Technology Correspondent,
Politico.
You can watch the evidence session on demand here: Parliamentlive.tv -
Communications and Digital Committee
- For more information on the Committee and its inquiry please
see the inquiry webpage here: Review of the Digital Markets,
Consumer and Competition Bill - Committees - UK Parliament
