The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has identified essential spending and sectors where people are under financial pressure, such as accommodation and travel, as ‘areas of focus’ for the next year
It will also focus on emergent markets such as the development of artificial intelligence models and on enabling innovative businesses to access cloud services, e-commerce and digital advertising, according to its 2024-2025 Annual Plan, published last week.
The regulator is poised to gain powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, expected to receive Royal Assent in April. Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said these would enable it ‘to inject much needed competition into digital markets and to protect consumers more effectively than ever before. We have been preparing for several years to make sure we can hit the ground running’.
