“Relationships” surrounding the UK appointing Ex-Amazon executives to the chair of antitrust regulators
There is a coalition of organizations and individuals I signed an open letter Expression concern The British government’s Deciding to appoint Former Amazon executive as chairman of the Competition and Markets Bureau (CMA).
Groups that include US tech costumes such as Yelp, Duckduckgo, Mozilla, etc. CMA checks Big Tech and “unlocks positive economic outcomes of the economy as a whole” and “will not be released from political pressure” I say it must be.
For the sake of the context, the UK antitrust regulator has We investigated big technology for Every way Alongside violations and the European Union counterparts, the CMA has played a role in restraining major players in the high-tech world. Blocking Acquisition and Force a sale.
However, the UK has attempted to reposition its position as a growth protector by cutting red tape and bureaucracy. And as part of that, the government seems to want to make it more attractive to external investment by shaking antitrust laws.
last month, Reports have appeared The UK’s Bureau of Management and Trade was ousting CMA Chairman Marcus Bokkerink and heading down the road Doug Girl (Photo above) has played a variety of roles across Amazon’s UK and Chinese businesses for nearly a decade. Gurr left Amazon 2020 Become director of the Natural History Museum.
“This government has a clear change plan to drive the growth of businesses and communities across the UK.” Jonathan ReynoldsThe UK Secretary of Business and Trade said in a statement at the time. “Looking at regulators including the CMA, as we set up, we want to overcharge our economy with business decisions that will promote prosperity and growth and spend more money on people’s pockets. Masu.”
“Loss of vision”
It is worth noting that Gurr’s appointment is currently tentative. But it shows the government’s views in terms of the type of person it is trying to fill its role. Among them announcement Last month, the government said Girl’s past on Amazon could “bring rich experience” from his work in the technology sector.
And the move has spurred several two dozen bodies to deal with letters to several senior government ministers, including Reynolds and Essker Prime Minister Rachel Reeves. The inclusion of Duckduckgo, Yelp and Mozilla among the signatories reveals that small tech companies view Europe (including the UK) as a buffer of Big Tech’s global impact.
Other organizations such as The Future of Technology Institute, Booksellers Association, Coalition for App Fiarness and Open Markets Institute also named the letter.
“After removing the CMA chair and replacing former Amazon executives, I am worried that the UK government has lost sight of its commitment to robust competitive enforcement. DMU (Digital Market Unit) structure and operational independence of CMAs” reads the letter. “If CMA focuses solely on the profits of large companies and is being diverted from its core mission to maintain and promote competitive markets, it will be possible to achieve long-term, sustainable, comprehensive growth and Innovation is not achieved.”
CMA’s Digital Market Unit It was specifically set up To tackle Big Tech, the letter “signer” should note that this unit should not compromise on political influence.
“The new DMU administration must be trusted by the government and independent of political pressures when unlocking the positive economic outcomes of the entire economy,” the letter states. “Only then, large tech companies will be able to use businesses and consumers to promote positive economic outcomes, rather than pressuring regulators to water the bold bailouts they need. You’re forced to have honest conversations. In short, DMUs (and CMAs) can only drive growth if they are truly operationally independent.”
Below is the full letter and a list of signers.
RT Hon Rachel Reeves MP
prime minister
HM Ministry of Finance
1 Horse Guard Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
England
CC: RT Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade. RT Hon Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. Baronness Jones of Witchchurch, secretary of the state legislature for the future digital economy and online safety
Dear Prime Minister,
We are a broad group of challengers and medium-sized high-tech companies, industry associations, civil society organizations and experts who have long sought competition in the digital market through a new digital market unit (“DMU”) regime. Like the Prime Minister, we want the Department of Competition and Markets (“CMA”) to take growth seriously. However, sustainable growth and inclusive innovation are only achieved by breaking barriers to competition.
After the removal of the CMA chairman and his replacement with former Amazon executives, I am worried that the UK government has lost sight of the DMU administration’s commitment to robust competitive enforcement and CMA’s operational independence. Long-term, sustainable, comprehensive growth and innovation when CMA focuses solely on the profits of large companies and is diverted from a core mission to maintain and promote competitive markets. is not achieved.
The powers of former antennas in the Digital Market, Competition, and Consumer Act (“DMCCA”) are completely different from the other enforcement powers of the CMA. A small number of companies with extremely competitive advantage. The new DMU administration must be trusted by the government and independent of political pressures in order to unlock the positive economic outcomes of the entire economy. Only then will large tech companies be honest with businesses and consumers about how to promote positive economic outcomes rather than pressure regulators to water the bold bailouts they need. You will be forced to have a conversation. In short, DMUs and CMAs can only drive growth if they are truly operationally independent.
Labour has long supported the need for robust and urgent action to tackle the UK’s high-tech sector monopoly, including during the passage of the DMCCA. When you write, “A new monopoly (…) of platform capitalism such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc., exerts its monopoly on knowledge and information,” and “blocks the competitive market,” we are you I agree to. It was right to say, “We need to dissolve the monopoly to ensure the market is competitive.”
It hasn’t changed much since I wrote those words in 2018. In fact, the largest incumbent technology monopoly has gained strength and is now exploiting dominance to ensure strangulation in new markets. As established by Furman Review and multiple expert research that continued around the world, greater competition in digital markets, carried out by independent and impartial regulators, unlocks the central mission of government economic growth. It’s the key to it, not a barrier to it. CMA’s independence must be strictly defended to pursue its mission in the face of active lobbying from high-tech giants and other vested interests.
If UK companies can ultimately compete with large tech companies on a level playing field, this will unlock key investments, innovations and growth if these companies choose their ability to invest in the UK economy. I will. In fact, proper enforcement of the DMCCA unlocks growth throughout the UK economy.
The CMA shows that Apple and Google will be able to earn more than £4 billion in 2021, exceeding what they need to significantly reward investors from the UK mobile business. Regulators also show that digital advertising costs were £500 per household (£14 billion overall) in 2019, much higher than in a competitive market. Open choice, trust, transparency and fair dealings will help UK businesses thrive and UK consumers provide a better, cheaper and wider range of products and services. A more competitive and diverse digital economy has more broadly shared benefits of new technology, reducing UK dangerous dependencies, and far greater autonomy than the way citizens share information and interact online and helps to provide you with a choice.
During a briefing to the press, government officials said they had “full complaints from the business” about the CMA’s performance, saying the government has heard “misfortune from everyone.” . We listen more to the hundreds of thousands of UK companies that governments have to do business in the monopoly market every day, and properly scrutinize the funds and independence of lobby groups that claim to represent the interests of small and medium-sized businesses. We encourage you to do so. A startup to understand which groups represent the broader economy.
In fact, we have investigated the development of new professional competitive structures for the digital market in recent years, investigating harmful behavior by the largest incumbent high-tech companies, investigating mergers at risk of burning fuel, and investigating world building. and continues to support the approach to building the world. – Reading team of digital and technology experts. This is an internationally respected regulator, especially for the digital regulations that are currently followed around the world, due to their approach to digital regulation.
We hope that the government will use future strategic measures to the CMA to reaffirm the regulator’s commitment to operational independence and speedy implementation of a new competitive regime for the digital market. We welcome the opportunity to meet you to discuss how we can work together to achieve this.
Sincerely,
Individual:
- Professor Amelia Fletcher, CBE at East Anglia University (former CMA, former non-executive director of the CMA, HM Treasury Digital Competition Expert Panel – Furman Review)
- Professor Derek Macquarie, University of Nottingham (HM Ministry of Finance Digital Competition Panel – Furman Review)
- Professor Philip Marsden of the Bank of England (member, HM Treasury Expert Panel on Digital Competition – Furman Review)
- Sir Vince Cable, former Secretary of State Business, Innovation, Skills
Organization:
- Article 19
- A balanced economy project
- Bookstore Association
- App Fairness Coalition
- duckduckgo
- Ecosia
- foxglove
- The future of the Institute of Technology
- GetYourGuide
- Kelkou Group
- Mindeoo Technology and Democracy Center at Cambridge University
- Mojira
- News Media Association
- Online Dating and Discovery Association (Odda)
- Open Markets Institute
- proton
- Public Interest News Foundation
- PPA (Professional Publishers Association)
- Reset your technology
- Responsible Online Commerce Coalition
- Skyscanner
- Authors Association
- Which one?
- YELP