Introduction
On 7th April 2021 the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (“BEIS”), Department of Culture, Media and Sport (“DCMS”) and the Competition & Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced the establishment of a new Digital Markets Unit (“DMU”), established within the CMA, to enforce the UK’s new digital regulatory regime. The DMU has begun work in a shadow, non-statutory form. The Unit is to be headed by Will Hayter of the Cabinet Office who previously worked as a senior CMA official. He has been appointed as interim head of the DMU from May 2021. Its principal role will be to regulate online marketplaces and platforms. The Unit will oversee plans to give consumers more choice and control over their data, promote online competition and crack down on unfair practices which can often leave businesses and consumers with less choice and more expensive goods and services. Once legislation has been passed, probably in late 2021/2022, the DMU will be provided with full statutory powers to enforce the new online digital markets regulatory…
