As part of the modifications planned under new rules, buying, selling, or hosting bogus reviews would become unlawful.
The UK government's new Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Bill intends to benefit consumers while increasing competition among large technology corporations.
The bill, which was filed on Tuesday, prohibits people from obtaining money or free items in exchange for writing flattering reviews.
Firms would also be required to notify customers when their free subscription trials expire. Furthermore, the bill seeks to end the current market dominance of the tech titans.
Since 2021, the law has been in the works. Its creators have stated that they want to oversee the way a number of large tech businesses dominate the market - though none have been expressly named yet, and will be chosen following a nine-month assessment phase.
It makes no difference where they are located, and corporations headquartered in China will be included if they are judged to be in scope. The newly established Digital Markets Unit, which will be part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), will thereafter be given special powers to open up a specific market based on the circumstances.
This may involve asking Apple to allow iPhone and iPad users to download apps from various app stores, or compelling search engines to share data. The CMA will be authorized to levy fines of up to 10% of global revenue for non-compliance, depending on the infraction, and will not need a court order to enforce consumer law.
The EU Digital Markets Act was created to address similar competition difficulties with large digital corporations.
The UK bill is fairly broad, and the CMA will have to:
- deal with the large, worldwide issue of big tech's market dominance
- help customers manage subscriptions, and potentially extend the "cooling off" period so they can be stopped after one payment is made
- ensure platforms take "reasonable steps" to verify that product and service evaluations are authentic.
After successfully forcing Meta, Facebook's parent company, to sell the graphics animation firm Giphy after ruling that it would harm competition, the CMA demonstrated that a UK regulator can be effective when tackling what are likely to be predominantly US-based behemoths. Meta was disappointed, but it did comply.
According to Reed Smith lawyer Nick Breen, the expanded powers granted to the CMA under the new bill mean that "no one has the luxury of taking this lightly." The trade organization techUK's Neil Ross expressed hope that it would feature "robust checks and balances" as well as a fast appeals mechanism.
"The new laws we're delivering today will empower the CMA to directly enforce consumer law, strengthen competition in digital markets, and ensure that people across the country keep hold of their hard-earned cash," said Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake.
Following parliamentary approval, the new rules will be implemented as soon as possible, according to the Department of Business and Trade.
