Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 – Where are we now?

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (‘the Act’) received royal assent on 24^th May 2024 and makes a series of important changes to existing law. As part of these changes, traders may be fined up to 10% of the total value of their turnover either by the courts or directly by the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’). These powers are in force from April 2025 and therefore it is essential that both law firms and their clients are aware of the key provisions.

This webinar sets out a succinct summary of the key provisions of the Act with particular emphasis on the following topics:

Unfair commercial practices:

• Repeal of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
• Changes to the definition of ‘unfair commercial practice’
• Introduction of more detailed provisions about ‘fake consumer reviews’
• CMA Guidance on unfair commercial practices

Enforcement provisions:

• Definition of ‘relevant infringements’
• Changes to the powers of the court
• Introduction of direct enforcement powers for the CMA
• Introduction of monetary penalties – fixed amount v daily rate
• CMA Guidance on enforcement of monetary penalties