Price rises and smaller data packages: Regulator voices concerns over Vodafone’s £15bn Three merger September 13, 2024 The planned £15bn merger between Vodafone and Three could lead to price increases for tens of millions of mobile customers, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned. The watchdog added that the deal, which was first announced last year, could also see customers get a reduced service such as smaller data packages in their [...]
Competition watchdog takes interest in Carlsberg-Britvic merger September 10, 2024 The competition watchdog announced this morning that it had opened the first stages of an investigation into the tie-up between Carlsberg and rival drinks brand Britvic. Danish brewing giant Carlsberg agreed to acquire the British soft drinks maker for £3.3bn in July, in a significant push into the UK non-alcoholic drinks market. The CMA has [...]
Publishers rally as Google advertising antitrust trial restarts in US September 9, 2024 One month after a US court ruled that Google illegally maintained its monopoly on internet search, the tech giant is back in the dock. This time, Google’s lucrative online advertising business, which last year raked in nearly $240bn (£183bn), is under fire, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and 17 states accusing its parent company, Alphabet, of monopolising digital [...]
Google accused of using its dominance to harm the competition September 6, 2024 Google has been accused of using “anti-competitive practices” which harm thousands of publishers and advertisers in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it has provisionally found that the US giant could be negatively impacting rivals over open-display advert technology. According to its findings, the watchdog said that when placing digital adverts on [...]
CMA clears Microsoft and Inflection AI partnership after merger ruling September 4, 2024 Britain’s competition regulator has today cleared Microsoft’s arrangements with Inflection AI, which included a licensing deal and the hiring of former Inflection employees. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced in April it was looking at three separate deals that potentially fall under UK merger law and, if so, whether they could have a harmful [...]
Apple has ‘significant concerns’ over CMA probe into its Safari mobile browser September 4, 2024 Apple said it has “significant concerns” with the UK competition watchdog investigation into the supply of mobile browsers. In 2022, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into the dominance of Apple’s Safari browser and Google’s Chrome browser, along with the possibility that Apple may be restricting the cloud gaming market through its [...]
Green light finally expected for £2.5bn Barratt and Redrow mega-merger August 28, 2024 The £2.5bn mega-merger of housebuilders Barratt and Redrow looks set to be finally given approval by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The watchdog launched an investigation into the proposed deal in June after it was first announced in February. Now, the watchdog has said it considers that there are reasonable grounds for believing that [...]
Meta: Watchdog greenlights changes to advertiser data rules on Facebook August 20, 2024 The UK’s competition watchdog has given the green light to new commitments from Meta to better protect the data of advertisers on Facebook. Since June 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been looking into whether Meta has unfairly data from its advertising services to give its Facebook Marketplace an edge over competitors. After [...]
Strict advertising rules are pushing formula milk prices to record highs, CMA finds August 16, 2024 Strict advertising rules around infant formula milk are leading to “historically high” prices for UK parents, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said today. The watchdog said its investigation into formula prices had found that current regulations, which heavily limit how brands can advertise their products, were hindering price competition. It said that since price [...]
Worcester Bosch to make major change after green marketing concerns raised by CMA August 9, 2024 Worcester Bosch has agreed to make a major change to the way it markets its products across the UK after agreeing a deal with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The watchdog said it had become concerned the company may have mislead consumers into thinking that its boilers – marketed as ‘hydrogen-blend ready’ – are [...]