UK Strengthens Supervision Of Big Tech, Requires Data Access For Competitors And Limits Promotion

CMA CEO Sarah Cardell (photo: x @PeterOvo5)

JAKARTA - The competition supervisory authority in the United Kingdom plans to make major tech companies give their competitors greater access to data. In addition, it also limits them to promote their own products. This applies under the new powers that the government will grant to the authority, it said on Thursday, January 11.

The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) has strengthened its oversight of major tech companies such as owners of Facebook, Meta, parent Google, Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple.

His desire to confront them was revealed last year when CMA intervened in Microsoft's purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. Even recently CMA was reviewing the US giant deal with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

"The new digital market competition regime will help ensure that tech challenger companies can bring truly disruptive and exciting innovations that will create great new products for consumers," said CMA CEO Sarah Cardell, as reported in a CMA statement at the Silicon Valley conference.

"Today's review of the document not only provides clarity for British lawmakers, but also for digital companies and broader stakeholders about the approach CMA will take," he said.

CMA established a special Digital Markets unit more than two years ago. This unit is equipped with expertise to test fast-growing markets such as social media. Big tech companies with special status must comply with the new rules.

Unit ini akan mendapatkan kekuatan baru di bawah undang-undang yang saat ini sedang berlalu di parlemen.

The CMA, which has gained additional status after Brexit, said it hoped to open three to four investigations in the first year of the new regime.

The CMA says it can prevent companies from prioritizing their own products and services, and make them give competitors greater access to data and functionality.

CMA can also make Big Tech enable competing products and services to work with their own products or ensure they provide users with effective options, and require them to increase transparency regarding aspects of their algorithms.