Consumer Goods & Retail

2025 was a fascinating year for UK competition and consumer enforcement, with the CMA changing its policies and practices in a number of areas. Our Year in Review summarises the most important developments of the past year and what we expect in 2026, as the CMA implements its reworked procedures for merger and market cases, begins to use its new consumer fining powers, and imposes digital conduct requirements for the first time. We also anticipate a Government consultation on significant changes to the decision-making model for mergers and markets.

On November 1, 2025, the Commission issued a policy brief[1] in which it rejected calls to extend the legal professional privilege to in-house counsel communication. The Commission examined the question after stakeholders called for such an extension as part of the revision process of the regulation governing antitrust investigation, Regulation 1/2003.[2]

On 16 October 2025, the CMA launched a public consultation on its draft revised Merger Remedies Guidance (the Draft Guidance).[1]  The revision reflects the Government’s call for a more business-friendly, pro-growth approach to merger control.[2]

Introduction

In May 2025, the Commission launched a public consultation on possible reforms to its merger guidelines, covering seven core topics that underpin how the Commission assesses the competitive impact of mergers.[1] On October 29, the Commission summarized the main trends of the 243 responses[2] it received.[3] The highlights are as follows:

On July 10, 2025, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published both its 2024 Annual Report,[1] and its 2025-2026 Roadmap,[2] which outlines its priorities for the year ahead. 

On June 4, 2025, The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) launched a public consultation on the topic of self-preferencing in the cloud computing sector.  This follows the recent enactment of Law No. 2024-449 on the security and regulation of the digital space (“SREN Law”).  This consultation reflects growing scrutiny of vertically integrated cloud providers that may favor their own services and software at the expense of competitors.

The French Assemblée Nationale (the “National Assembly”) is currently examining a legislative proposal to increase the French merger control notification thresholds, as part of a broader bill on the simplification of economic life (the “Simplification Bill”).  The draft Simplification Bill, already adopted by the French Senate[1] and reviewed by a special commission within the National Assembly, is being discussed in plenary session under the accelerated legislative procedure. [2]  If adopted, the new merger control thresholds could be implemented by early 2026 and would significantly decrease the number of transactions reviewed by the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”).

The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) imposed a €150 million fine on Apple for abusing its dominant position between 2021 and 2023 as a distributor of mobile applications on iOS and iPadOS devices through the implementation of “artificially complex” requirements relating to privacy protection.[1] 

In January 2025, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) launched a public consultation on the introduction of a merger control framework for transactions that fall below the current turnover-based notification thresholds.[1] Whereas three options were presented in the consultation, on April 10, 2025 the FCA announced that the first option, namely the introduction of a call-in power based on quantitative and qualitative criteria, had received the most positive feedback and was being prioritized.[2]