UK Set to Reject Big Tech Call for Antitrust Appeals Route
- Decision due within two months in new Parliamentary session
- Ministers seek to curb dominance of major technology companies
A digital advertisement for Meta Platforms Inc. at a bus shelter in London, UK.
Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/BloombergUK ministers are poised to reject Big Tech calls for greater scope to appeal against decisions made by the country’s antitrust regulator under new digital markets rules, people familiar with the matter said.
The government plans to use the new Digital Markets Unit within the regulator, the Competition and Market Authority, to apply extra scrutiny to companies such as Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc., and to curb their dominance. The division is expected to have powers to fine internet firms in a bid to protect consumers, and it may allow smaller companies to access the data held by bigger ones. It could lead to tech companies compensating media outlets for carrying news stories.