UK consumer law proposals under The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill

Consumer protection and competition lawyers alike have been waiting with bated breath for the long anticipated updates to the UK’s competition and consumer law regimes, as announced in the late Queen’s speech last year. A first draft was finally published in the shape of The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC Bill) last month. The DMCC Bill had its first reading in Parliament on 25 April and has promised to give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) new, targeted powers to drive competition and protect consumers.

In this article, we take a deep dive into the five most interesting proposed consumer law changes, as set out in Parts 3 and 4 of the DMCC Bill. Whilst the Bill appears to introduce sweeping changes to consumer protection laws, when taking a closer look, many of the changes consolidate existing legal requirements, as well as codifying the CMA’s current guidance - and previous decisions - about the application of the UK’s consumer protection laws.

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