Consumer law takeaways from The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC) has been passed by Parliament and is expected to come into force very shortly, marking a significant shift in the UK's digital and consumer law landscape. 

As will be evident from its title, the DMCC changes the law in three areas: 

• Digital Market Participants: The DMCC introduces a new regime for the regulation of large tech firms, giving the CMA new powers to regulate dominant players. 
• Competition Law: The DMCC introduces new controls on large corporate mergers (in all sectors, not just digital markets) to ensure healthy competition is preserved; and 
• Consumer Law: There are also significant changes implemented to enhance consumer protection which are likely to have a significant impact on B2C businesses.

This article looks at the key consumer law changes. We've summarised some key takeaways that you may need to be aware of if your business deals with consumers:

• Fake and Incentivised Reviews: Fake reviews are now banned under the DMCC and online businesses must take reasonable steps to prevent them being published. Any incentivised review must be clearly disclosed to avoid misleading consumers.
• Drip Pricing: Businesses must clearly show all costs that a customer will necessarily incur upfront. If the exact price can't be determined beforehand (due to the product's nature), the business must explain how the cost will be calculated.
• Changes to Subscriptions: New rules aim at making the subscription process simpler and more transparent and include making it easier for customers to cancel a subscription and includes an obligation to send reminder notices for cancellation.
• Focus on Transparency and Fairness: The DMCC emphasises transparency across the board. Businesses should be prepared to improve the clarity of their terms and conditions, particularly regarding data collection and user rights. 

Is your business ready for the consumer law changes in the DMCC?

Here's how to prepare:

1. Self-Assessment: Review your terms and conditions, business practices and processes to identify areas that might need adjustments to comply with the DMCC's new rules and focus on fairness and transparency.
2. Understand Your Obligations: We can help you understand your consumer law obligations under the DMCC and develop strategies for compliance. This will span both ensuring your practices and processes are compliant and updating the terms and conditions you use to do business with consumers. 
3. Develop a Compliance Strategy: Contact us to discuss your specific situation and receive tailored advice on how to adapt to the evolving digital market.

If you would like advice related to any of the points raised here or assistance conducting a review of your consumer practices, please do contact us to discuss.