UK competition and digital-markets regulation: the CMA’s digital markets and strategic market status regime, the DMCCA 2024, concurrent competition powers, and where it meets data and payments.
In short: Under the NFC access conduct requirement that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed on 20 October 2026, Apple would have to open the iPhone’s contactless chip to other apps, including for account-to-account payments, on fair and reasonable terms. For a payment initiation provider, the fee structure and the security evidence Apple may…
In short: ChatGPT search engine duties differ between the EU and the UK. The European Commission designated ChatGPT, as a hybrid service, a very large online search engine under the Digital Services Act on 31 August 2026, with additional duties applying from four months after notification: January 2027. Ofcom lists ChatGPT Search, the search function…
In short: The CMA merger counterfactual in nexfibre/Substantial is, provisionally, a purchase of Substantial by CityFibre, the rival bidder in the 2025 sale process, followed by a sale of its retail businesses. Measured against that, the CMA provisionally found on 2 October 2026 that the deal may be expected to lessen competition substantially in wholesale…
In short: The search choice screen the CMA proposes for Google’s Android devices and Chrome browser would be open to any search service, AI assistants included, that meets three eligibility criteria, the first of which would require AI summaries to attribute web content. Google would decide who qualifies every six months and send its reasons…
In short: Ofcom proposes a Competition Act settlement discount of up to 40 per cent for non-cartel conduct, double the cap in its 2017 guidelines, where the business settles before Ofcom issues a Statement of Objections. The business must also confirm that it will not challenge or appeal the decision. The consultation closes on 6…
In short: section 60A Competition Act 1998 obliges a UK court, the CMA and the concurrent regulators to have regard to European Commission statements made before Brexit implementation period (IP) completion day (31 December 2020) and not subsequently withdrawn. At paragraph 246 of its Guidelines of 3 September 2026 the Commission withdrew its prior 2009…
In short: The Meta child safety settlement, filed in the Northern District of California on 26 August 2026, commits Meta to a two-hour default daily limit for teenagers, an overnight night access mode and hidden like counts on Instagram and Facebook. The agreement limits those obligations to the settling US states. Neither Ofcom nor the…
In short: the Apple gatekeeper judgment of 8 July 2026 dismissed all three of Apple’s actions against its Digital Markets Act designation. The General Court held that a gatekeeper cannot challenge Article 6(7) in an action against its designation decision, because designation only starts a six-month clock; the duty comes from Article 3(10) read with…
In short: The CMA drip pricing investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School were opened on 18 August 2026, and each firm had received a CMA advisory letter nine months earlier. Under section 225(4)(b) of the DMCCA, omitting the total price from an invitation to purchase is unfair without proof that any consumer…
In short: the CMA markets remedies review covers 33 market investigation remedies made between 1987 and 2017. On 12 August 2026 the Competition and Markets Authority provisionally decided to remove 23 in full, remove 4 in part and retain 6. Representations close at 5pm on 11 September 2026, with a final decision expected in October…
Update, 8 October 2026: since this post was published, the Prime Minister announced in August 2026 that the subscription contracts regime under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 will come into force in January 2027 rather than spring 2027. No commencement regulations have yet been made. In short: In the CMA Microsoft investigation,…
In short: AI Office enforcement covers a company only where it built the AI system on its own general-purpose AI model, or where the system operates inside a platform designated under the Digital Services Act. Every other business remains subject to national regulation. The difference matters, because the AI Office can enter and seal premises…