Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set out its initial plans for the new digital markets competition regime. The regime is designed to support the UK’s tech sector and is underpinned by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. This Act received royal assent in May 2024 and came into force on 1 January 2025.

The purpose of the regime is to prevent very large, typically global, tech firms from using unfair advantages to shut out smaller businesses. Following an investigation, which can take up to a maximum of 9 months, the CMA has the authority to designate a business as having “Strategic Market Status” (SMS) concerning a specific digital activity.

Once a business is designated in this way, the CMA can impose specific conduct requirements on the business or introduce pro-competition interventions to benefit UK consumers and businesses.

The CMA has indicated that it expects to launch investigations into two areas of digital activity in January. A further investigation into a third area is anticipated to begin towards the end of June.

The specific areas of digital activity under investigation have not yet been disclosed. However, the CMA has stated that more detailed announcements on this will be made later in January.

As the investigations are launched, the CMA also plans to provide additional information about how a particular designation is expected to benefit affected businesses and consumers.

It is still early days to assess the practical benefits of the regime, but it could offer UK tech businesses opportunities to innovate and grow within a fairer business environment.

To review the CMA’s guide on how the UK’s digital markets competition regime works, see: CMA guidance