Oliver Dowden's opinion piece for The Telegraph on the Digital Markets Unit
The Digital Secretary discusses the government's new pro-competition regime for tech giants like Facebook and Google.
This article was first published in The Telegraph on 27 November 2020.
In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher made the bold move to open up the telecoms industry to a new era of competition.
At the time, the decision to challenge British Telecom’s monopoly of the sector was considered “revolutionary…all but unthinkable”, as Thatcher later wrote in her memoirs.
But the strength of today’s telecoms industry can be traced directly back to her decision to welcome smaller companies in, and drive innovation and growth across the industry.
Now, 40 years later, it’s time to have the same pro-market zeal with big tech.
This week, we became one of the first countries in the world to announce that we would be setting up a new pro-competition regime for tech giants like Facebook and Google, overseen by a dedicated Digital Markets Unit.
That unit will enforce a code of conduct to govern the behaviour of dominant online platforms, put in place measures to boost competition, and help protect users against unfair or exploitative practices.
Let me be clear from the outset: this government is unashamedly pro-tech, and it’s clear that tech has been an incredible force for good in our lives.
Every day, we use digital platforms to shop, to connect with loved ones, to work and to play. Tech has powered us through the pandemic, and it’s going to power us through the recovery.
And we are supporting tech companies to innovate and grow so that we can maintain one of the strongest tech sectors in the world, behind only the U.S. and China.
That’s why in the height of the pandemic we announced we were going to rethink our approach to data, so that we can unlock its full potential for tech companies and non-tech businesses across the UK.
And it’s why we’re working on a new Digital Strategy to drive a new era of growth for tech start-ups and scale-ups, and help more small and medium-sized businesses to get online and unroll their digital awnings.
As we exit the EU, I want the UK to be an open and secure beacon for companies from across Europe, from the U.S., Japan, and all over the world; a welcoming environment where companies can share data and innovate.
However, you can be pro-tech without being pro-untrammelled big tech. This country is powered by small businesses and innovators, and I want them to thrive as part of Britain’s pro-tech future.
Right now, though, they are being crowded out by a dominant minority.
According to the Competition and Markets Authority, who this year published a sweeping market study into online platforms and digital advertising, that lack of competition is harming consumers and businesses alike — including through reduced innovation, the lack of control and choice for users, and higher prices for goods and services.
The CMA’s report set out the scale of the problem. Now it’s our duty to respond. Today, we are accepting the case for a new regime.
If we’re serious about being pro-tech, then we need to create a healthy environment for our tech companies. And a healthy environment means a competitive environment.
Under the new regime, tech giants who are funded by digital advertising could be ordered to open up their non-personal data, or make their systems more interoperable so that smaller companies can compete on a level playing field.
And the Digital Markets Unit is there to protect consumers, too. It could require digital platforms to be more transparent about the services they provide and how they use consumers’ data, and could prevent those tech giants from placing restrictions on their customers that make it hard for them to use rival platforms.
Lastly, we’re going to tackle the devastating knock-on effects that anti-competitive practices have had on our vitally important newspaper industry, which were outlined in the Cairncross Review.
At the moment, tech giants can impose terms on news publishers that limit their ability to monetise their content — severely impacting their ability to thrive.
Our code will make sure publishers get a fair deal from the platforms on which they rely, so that we can support the sustainability of one of the world’s strongest news publishing sectors.
We’ve accepted the CMA’s call for a new regime. We’re putting money where our mouth is by properly funding the Digital Markets Unit up front, through this week’s Spending Review.
And we intend to make rapid and tangible progress, and will be legislating as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Competition has been our way of delivering the things we care about for the last four decades.
Likewise, competition will be our way of delivering a thriving, flourishing — and sustainable — tech industry for the decades to come.