Britain’s competition watchdog is gearing up to launch a string of probes into Big Tech firms over the coming months amid a growing backlash against their dominance, according to its chief executive Andrea Coscelli.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Coscelli said the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was "actively scanning the players, the complaints we have received, the cases that others are doing, what could be done in parallel with others, where are the gaps in the work the European Commission is doing".
He said the watchdog was expecting to open more investigations over the next year.
It comes ahead of the establishment of a "digital markets unit" within the CMA in April, a group which is expected to be handed sweeping new powers to curb how large tech giants including Facebook, Amazon and Google are allowed to become.
The CMA has suggested the new unit should put in place tailored rules for each of the technology companies, to account for the fact they hold large parts of different markets, and that it be able to fine them billions of pounds if they break those rules.
Until the group is given those powers through legislation, Mr Coscelli has previously said the CMA would continue to take firm action on internet giants.
He told the Financial Times this week that "plan A is to have a regulatory framework", but that if, within a year, "there is little action because of Covid-19 and Brexit then we would certainly do something ourselves directly — that is plan B.”
The CMA’s focus on the technology sector has ramped up in recent years, and it has investigated many deals in the space, notably holding up an investment by Amazon into Deliveroo for almost a year amid concerns it would see the US tech firm gain steer over the British takeaway app.
It is currently in the middle of probes into Facebook’s takeover of Giphy as well as into Google’s plans to block other companies from tracking users around the web.
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