Hashtag Ad: Competition watchdog asks brands to be more transparent over influencer adverts November 4, 2022 The competition watchdog has published fresh guidance for Instagram influencers and big tech firms to help users identify a paid for endorsement. Regulators want to see social media publishers commit to being more open and transparent about when posts are paid for adverts. Under the new guidance, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has asked [...]
Pfizer and Flynn Pharma to appeal £70m fine for price hiking October 27, 2022 Pfizer and Flynn Pharma have filed an appeal against the UK’s competition watchdog over its decision to fine the firms £70m for hiking the price of a life-saving epilepsy drug. Pharma giant Pfizer and privately-owned neuroscience specialist Flynn are appealing the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) £70m fine, after the two firms previously forced the [...]
Govt drags feet with new digital markets bill October 25, 2022 A new report by MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has called on the Government to push forward with a draft Digital Markets Bill that would allow regulators to take a more proactive approach to curbing big tech dominance. The bill would enshrine the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Digital Markets Unit (DMU) [...]
Competition watchdog orders Facebook owner Meta to sell Giphy October 18, 2022 The competition watchdog told Facebook’s parent firm Meta this afternoon that it would need to dump Giphy, marking the first time the regulator has blocked a deal struck by a Big Tech firm. In its “final decision”, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ruled that the combination of the two companies would allow Meta to [...]
CMA plans for price controls on emergency services radio network October 14, 2022 The UK’s competition watchdog has tabled plans to tackle excess profits at Motorola Solutions, after calling it a monopoly provider in the emergency service radio network. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that a lack of competition has allowed Motorola to make around £160m in excess profits a year, weighing on public funds [...]
Union to ballot 150,000 civil servants on plans for public sector strike September 26, 2022 The public sector workers’ union is set to ballot more than 150,000 civil servants on plans to strike over pay and working conditions. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said it is urging its members in 214 government departments to vote in favour of taking industrial action, after the UK government set out plans [...]
Suez strikes £1.75bn deal to buy back UK waste management from Veolia September 21, 2022 French utility Suez SA has struck a €2bn (£1.75bn) deal with Veolia Environment to buy back the UK waste management business it agreed to sell off to its rival last January. Suez has scuppered Macquarie’s bid to buy the British unit after the Australian asset manager struck a deal to acquire the UK business for [...]
Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal faces deeper competition probe September 15, 2022 The competition regulator has referred Microsoft’s $68.7bn snap up of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard for an in-depth investigation, spelling danger for the gaming sector's monster deal.
Raft of UK pharmaceutical directors risk being disqualified after CMA ruling September 2, 2022 The UK’s competition watchdog has today issued High Court proceedings to disqualify a raft of pharmaceutical directors, including Alliance Pharma’s CEO, over suspected anti-competitive agreements. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the investigation into the UK’s pharmaceutical sector in 2017, and revealed earlier this year that several firms had been impeding competition in the [...]
CMA provisionally clears cyber firm NortonLifeLock’s £7bn bid for Avast August 3, 2022 The competition regulator has provisionally cleared cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock's $8.6bn (£7.1bn) deal to snap up Avast.