A bill strengthening the UK Competition and Markets Authority to regulate tech giants like Apple and Google heads toward approval before the UK's July election
https://techcrunch.com/... Wouldn't have happened if not for the continuing efforts of @owa and in-kind contributions from Apple's legal team. Nothing pulls people together like a megacorp acting like an absolute bully: — https://open-web-advocacy.org/ ... X: Marc Edge / @marcedge1 : the UK equivalent of Canada's Online News Act was rushed through on Thursday following the general election call for July 4 https://pressgazette.co.uk/... Rachel Mackie / @rachelmackie2 : “Google, for instance, could be required to give notice to publishers of significant changes to its search algorithm.” Paul Thurrott / @thurrott : “” I mean, they nailed it with the Activision Blizzard acquisition, so why not? \cricket chirps Max von Thun / @maxvonthun : In the nick of time before the upcoming general election, Parliament has passed the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, the UK's more versatile answer to the DMA. Looking forward to seeing how the @CMAgovUK puts its new powers to work, not least in relation to AI. Bruce Lawson / @brucel : Great news. And thanks to MP Jessie P (@jessphillips) for her written question to the Minister, to kick the Government up its arse and get this done. Daniella Bennett Remington / @danibenrem : After just 11 minutes of debate today, the long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill passed! I have provided expert comment for @dodspolintel on this crucial legislation, whose parliamentary journey I have closely followed. #DMCC [image] @fnbrwatch : The UK has just passed the “DMCC Law”, which means that Fortnite IOS will most likely return to The UK after EU! Via @FNMNews [image] @kelkoopolicy : 🎉 🇬🇧The #DMCC Bill has been passed today! Royal Assent tomorrow. Significant step towards a fairer digital economy. @KelkooPolicy congratulates @sciTechgovuk and @CMA for staying the course amongst numerous challenges #DigitalMarkets #Competition @appfairness : Today the @UK_Parliament took a major step toward creating a free, fair, and competitive mobile app ecosystem for UK consumers and developers with the passage of the #DMCC Bill. We applaud the MPs who worked to pass the Bill and look forward to strong enforcement from @CMAgovUK. @fnmnews : 🚨Breaking🚨 The UK has just passed the DMCC law! This means Fortnite Mobile will likely return in the UK soon after the EU! [image] @openwebadvocacy : The UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill ("DMCC") has been passed by the Parliament!🇬🇧🇬🇧 This gives the UK regulator the tools they need to fight anti-competitive conduct from the gatekeepers. Thanks to all those that made it happen! 🎉🎊🎉 See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
The measure is the culmination of a UK policy process that had been framed around giving the CMA’s digital-markets unit authority over the largest platforms, following earlier plans to set revenue thresholds for intervention. It moves UK competition policy from conventional case-by-case enforcement toward rules tailored to firms that control key digital access points.
Its timing also places the UK alongside Europe’s broader gatekeeper push: the EU had already opened formal DMA investigations into Apple, Google and Meta over app-store steering and consent practices. The significance is not a single dispute, but another major jurisdiction building standing oversight of platform conduct.
First-order effects
- The CMA gains a clearer basis to supervise designated large digital firms, including Apple and Google, and to impose conduct requirements aimed at how they operate in UK digital markets.
- Platforms face a more formal UK compliance and engagement burden, including the prospect of advance notice around material changes such as search-algorithm updates.
Second-order effects
- Publishers, developers and other businesses dependent on platform distribution gain a more direct regulatory channel to challenge conduct that affects their access to users, while platforms must factor CMA scrutiny into product and policy changes.
- Apple and Google’s UK rulemaking is likely to be assessed alongside their EU DMA responses, particularly after the EU’s preliminary finding on Apple’s anti-steering rules, increasing pressure for policies that can withstand multiple regimes.
Third-order effects
- If the CMA uses these powers actively, competition oversight will increasingly shape platform design and commercial terms before harm is addressed through long antitrust cases.
- The broader shift is toward jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction gatekeeper regulation; whether this produces convergent rules or distinct national compliance regimes will depend on enforcement choices.
The trend: Digital-market regulation is shifting from retrospective antitrust litigation to continuous oversight of the platforms that govern access to users and business customers.