Category: Public Affairs

This Bill will allow the CMA to directly enforce consumer law and impose fines on non-compliant big tech firms of up to 10% of their global turnover.

The Digital Markets Unit (DMU) within the CMA will be able to tackle the root causes of competition issues in digital markets by carrying out targeted interventions, by opening up new paths for start-ups or smaller firms that have previously struggled to grow and compete in these markets.

The Bill also looks to address “subscription traps” which make it difficult for consumers to exit contracts. Under new rules, businesses must:

• Provide clearer information to consumers before they enter a subscription contract
  
• Issue a reminder to consumers that a free trial or low-cost introductory offer is coming to an end, and a reminder before a contract auto-renews onto a new term
  
• Ensure consumers can exit a contract in a straightforward, cost-effective, and timely way
  

The Bill had its First Reading this week, which is a formal process to introduce legislation to Parliament. The next stage for the Bill is the Second Reading Debate, where MPs will exchange views on the broad principles of the Bill in Parliament. A date is yet to be announced for this.

The PPA is working with other trade bodies to ensure this Bill is successful in its journey through Parliament and is not compromised in a way that would negatively impact PPA members.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further with our public affairs team, please contact Eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk 

You can read the Bill here.

He will be covering the Ministerial portfolio of Julia Lopez while she is away on maternity leave.

The PPA will follow the activity of John Whittingdale’s office as we oversee the passage of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill through Parliament. For more information on our interest in this Bill, see here. 

This week, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill had its Second Reading Debate in the House of Commons, where MPs exchanged views on the main principles of the Bill.

The Bill is intended to create a post-Brexit framework for data protection arrangements in the UK. The Government described this legislation as a “common sense-led UK version of the EU’s GDPR” which will remove barriers to international trade and reduce cookie pop-ups. 

On EU adequacy, the PPA believes that the legislation in its current form does not deviate enormously from EU rules and hence the risk of losing adequacy remains low. However, the PPA has stressed that it is important for publishers that this does not change as the Bill makes its way through parliament.

Many MPs, including Shadow DCMS Secretary Lucy Powell, expressed concerns throughout the debate about the implications of the Bill for the UK’s adequacy agreement with the EU. Ministers Julia Lopez and Paul Scully responded stating that Government is committed to ensuring a free flow of data with the EU and believes that the UK will maintain adequacy following the enactment of the Bill. 

The PPA also stressed to MPs that the Bill in its current form would allow the Secretary of State to introduce centralised cookie consent, without having to consult the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). This risks affording a disproportionate amount of market power to browsers (such as Google) at the expense of publishers. If enacted, Google would have the ability to override existing cookie preferences expressed by users to publishers and create significant competitive disadvantage for publishers. Labour MP Stephanie Peacock reiterated concerns expressed by the PPA, stating that this “may entrench power in the hands of existing tech giants and muddy the waters on liability”. The Ministers present did not directly respond to this point. 

Next Steps

The Bill will now progress to Committee Stage, where MPs will examine it line-by-line and consider amendments. The PPA will continue to monitor parliamentary activity on the Bill and seek opportunities to champion the importance of a fair cookie consent arrangement which does not interfere with market competition.

If you wish to hear more about our work in this area, please contact Eilidh.wilson@ppa.co.uk. 

The Bill will be open to consultation and contains many of the elements contained in last year’s white paper, which looked to modernise decades-old broadcasting legislation.

It delivers on the government’s commitment to repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which is not in force, but would require news publishers to pay both sides’ costs in any legal proceedings if not a member of an approved regulator.

The PPA welcomes the Bill, in particular the repeal of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, and will work with government and Parliament during the consultation process and the Bill entering Parliament.

You can read the draft bill here. You may also find this further reading useful.

Of particular relevance to PPA members are the remarks on page 20 of the White Paper:

“Government is taking wider action to ensure the UK retains its status as a global leader in AI, for example by taking forward Sir Patrick Vallance’s recommendation relating to intellectual property law and generative AI. This will ensure we keep the right balance between protecting rights holders and our thriving creative industries, while supporting AI developers to access the data they need.”

Further details of Sir Patrick’s previous recommendation can be found here.

The PPA will continue to engage with the White Paper process to ensure the right balance is struck on this and that members’ intellectual property and copyright are not given away without the proper licensing protections.

You can read the White Paper here.