On 11 April 2024, the CMA published an update paper (the Update Paper) in relation to its initial review of AI Foundation Models (FMs). An accompanying technical update report (the Technical Update Report) was published on 16 April 2024, providing further detail on market developments and feedback from stakeholder engagement. These updates follow the CMA’s September 2023 initial report into the same topic (the Initial Report).
On 22 April 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a Feedback Statement on the potential competition impacts from data asymmetry between Big Tech firms and firms in financial services. On the same day, Nikhil Rathi, the FCA’s Chief Executive, delivered a speech at the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum on ‘Navigating the UK’s Digital Regulation Landscape’.
On 27 March 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that fashion retailers ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda (the Retailers) has signed undertakings to ensure that the environmental claims they make are accurate and clear (the Undertakings). The announcement was accompanied by an open letter to the fashion retail sector (the Letter). The Letter warns businesses to act in accordance with the CMA’s 2021 Green Claims Code and to take note of the Undertakings, or risk incurring significant monetary penalties once the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill comes into force (see our previous blog posts here, here and here). The CMA also indicated that it will be updating the Green Claims Code with specific guidance for the fashion sector.
On 25 January 2024, the Microeconomics Unit[1] of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a report examining competition and market power in UK labour markets (the Report). The Report is the Unit’s first published work, covering developments in the labour markets over the last two decades. Over this period, labour markets have changed significantly through the rise of flexible working and the gig economy (defined as labour services contracted through digital platforms), changes in restrictive covenants (contract clauses that restrict what workers can do after they leave their current employer), and shifts in pay-setting policies. Each of these factors has the potential to impact employer market power.[2]
On 8 March, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) handed down a third judgment in two years in
On 12 March 2024, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally decided to refer the veterinary sector
On 24 January 2024, the Department for Business and Trade announced that fake reviews and unavoidable hidden or “dripped” charges will be added to the list of banned practices under consumer law in the UK. The amendments are intended “to ensure customers can compare purchases with ease, aren’t duped by fake reviews, and have the sting of hidden fees taken away.”[1]
On 11 January 2024, the CMA published an overview of its “provisional approach to implement the new Digital Markets competition regime” (Overview), the new regulatory powers the CMA is set to take on once the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Bill (DMCC) passes through Parliament (see earlier posts here and here). The CMA published this Overview in response to the UK government’s request on 4 January that CMA publish a “high-level plan” for implementing the digital markets competition regime.[1]
The following post was originally included as part of our recently published memorandum “Selected Issues for Boards of Directors in 2024”.
Antitrust in 2023 was marked by a series of policy developments—some still nascent, some ripe for enforcement for the first time. In the U.S., the FTC and DOJ finalized their drastically transformed merger guidelines. In the EU, landmark new digital regulations became applicable for the first time. And the UK government introduced a bill promising major new digital and consumer protection rules.
In a unanimous judgment, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (CoA) reaffirmed the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) power to require overseas companies with no branches in the UK to produce documents and information when investigating suspected anticompetitive conduct. The CoA considered that not allowing the CMA to obtain information from overseas companies would create a “gaping lacuna” in the CMA’s ability to perform its statutory duties.