Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 was enacted to modernise UK competition and consumer law for the digital economy, following extensive consultation on platform power and market fairness. It establishes a statutory framework for the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) within the Competition and Markets Authority, empowering it to designate firms with “Strategic Market Status” and impose tailored conduct requirements to ensure fair competition and innovation. Although the Act does not explicitly mention artificial intelligence, it indirectly relates to AI governance through its regulation of digital platforms whose market dominance often stems from algorithmic ranking, recommendation, and data-driven decision-making systems. By addressing these systemic digital behaviours, the Act creates a framework that could affect the deployment and oversight of AI-based business models in dominant tech firms. Alongside these digital market rules, it strengthens consumer protections—including measures on subscription contracts, fake reviews, and enforcement powers—creating the most comprehensive reform of UK competition and consumer regulation in two decades.