Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers (DMCC) Bill - Which? Written Evidence submitted at Report Stage in the House of Lords

The Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers (DMCC) Bill will modernise the UK’s competition and consumer laws and has the potential to create a world leading regulatory framework. Key to the success of this Bill will be its provisions to empower the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) which will create more competitive markets and its updating of the UK’s wider consumer protection framework, through giving the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) much needed new powers to enforce consumer and competition law. 

Whilst we are supportive of this Bill, and still feel it meets its overarching objective, there are four areas where we still have concerns, and would be supportive of the following amendments to Part 1.

• Clear legal loopholes such as the countervailing benefits exemption removed or reverted to its original wording in the Bill
• The ‘proportionality’ principle removed and the language reverted to its original wording in the Bill
• Reinstating the principle of Judicial Review across the appeals standard for both CMA regulatory decisions and penalties
• The dilution or removal of new powers that give the Secretary of State sign-off on all CMA guidance

However, we also welcome two government amendments, that we have long championed, to Part 4 of the Bill:

• The ban on Drip Pricing practices to boost consumer transparency (Clause 229)
• The ban on the buying, selling & hosting of Fake Reviews (Schedule 19)

We have repeatedly called for these practices to be banned on the face of the Bill so that consumers are provided with greater transparency when shopping online and dodgy firms are prevented from duping consumers with fraudulent reviews.