UK digital competition enforcement faces a critical test in 2025, and one prominent tech voice is sounding the alarm: without swift action from regulators, the nation’s newly strengthened competition laws will amount to nothing more than symbolic gestures. Proton’s CTO has publicly urged the UK to begin enforcing its digital market rules against Apple and Google before the moment for real impact passes.
Key Takeaways
- The UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and entered force on 1 January 2025
- The CMA now has stronger powers to investigate abuse of dominance, including fines up to 1% of annual group worldwide turnover
- Proton and other tech challengers argue that legislation without enforcement will remain “words on a page”
- The CMA is currently investigating whether Apple and Google hold “Strategic Market Status” under the new regime
- The real test of UK competition policy will be how quickly and decisively regulators use their expanded powers
Why UK Digital Competition Enforcement Matters Right Now
The UK’s new digital competition framework represents one of the most aggressive regulatory shifts in tech policy this decade. After years of debate, Parliament granted the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) substantially expanded investigative and enforcement powers, effective from 1 January 2025. The CMA can now impose fixed fines of up to 1% of annual group worldwide turnover for procedural violations and daily fines reaching 5% of daily group worldwide turnover. For individuals, penalties climb to £30,000 fixed fines and £15,000 daily fines.
Yet legislation and enforcement are not the same thing. The warning from Proton’s CTO reflects a broader anxiety among smaller tech companies and privacy advocates: that the UK’s rulebook, however comprehensive on paper, will prove toothless without aggressive CMA action. This is not paranoia. Regulators worldwide have passed strong digital market rules only to see them languish under bureaucratic caution or political pressure. The window for establishing credibility through decisive early enforcement is narrow.
The CMA’s New Powers and the Apple-Google Question
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act strengthened the CMA’s hand in several concrete ways. The authority gained expanded information-gathering powers during competition investigations, stronger powers over domestic premises, and new compliance obligations requiring firms to preserve documents during probes. The Act also extended the territorial scope of the Chapter I prohibition on anti-competitive arrangements, allowing the CMA to pursue conduct outside the UK if there is sufficient UK nexus.
The immediate focus is clear: Apple and Google. The CMA is currently investigating whether these companies hold “Strategic Market Status” under the new regime. This designation would trigger stricter oversight and behavioral obligations. If the CMA moves decisively on these investigations and follows through with enforcement, it sends a signal that the UK’s new rules have teeth. If it delays, settles quietly, or imposes token penalties, the opposite message prevails.
The Risk of Regulatory Capture Through Inaction
Proton’s public warning taps into a real concern in competition policy circles: that well-intentioned rules can be rendered meaningless through slow, cautious enforcement. Big Tech companies employ armies of lawyers and lobbyists. They understand that regulatory timidity is their greatest asset. If the CMA takes months to complete investigations, settles for minor behavioral commitments rather than fines, or avoids confrontation with the largest platforms, the entire framework loses credibility.
The contrast with the EU is instructive. The European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which entered force in 2024, has already forced Apple to modify its App Store policies and opened investigations into Meta and other platforms. Whether one agrees with the EU’s approach, the bloc has demonstrated willingness to enforce its rules quickly and visibly. The UK must decide whether it will do the same or whether its new powers will gather dust while Apple and Google continue to dominate digital markets.
Can the UK Avoid Becoming a Regulatory Theater?
The stakes extend beyond any single enforcement action. If the CMA proves willing to use its new powers promptly and meaningfully, it establishes the UK as a serious digital competition regulator. This attracts smaller competitors, encourages innovation, and potentially shifts platform behavior globally. If enforcement remains sluggish or perfunctory, the Act becomes regulatory theater—impressive in ambition but hollow in impact.
The CMA has the tools. It has the legal authority. The question is whether it has the institutional will and political backing to move fast and hit hard when the stakes are highest. Proton’s CTO is essentially saying: act now, or watch your rules become irrelevant.
How does the CMA plan to investigate Apple and Google under the new rules?
The CMA is examining whether Apple and Google meet the “Strategic Market Status” threshold under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. This investigation will determine whether stricter behavioral obligations apply to these platforms. The CMA’s expanded investigative powers—including stronger information-gathering authority and domestic premises access—give it more leverage to demand evidence and documents.
What happens if the CMA finds Apple or Google in violation of UK digital competition rules?
If violations are confirmed, the CMA can impose fines up to 1% of annual group worldwide turnover for fixed breaches and daily fines up to 5% of daily group worldwide turnover. Beyond financial penalties, the authority can mandate behavioral changes, require divestitures, or impose ongoing compliance obligations. The severity of enforcement will signal whether the UK’s new framework is a credible threat or merely symbolic.
When did the UK’s new digital competition powers take effect?
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and the key provisions entered into force on 1 January 2025. This means the CMA’s expanded investigative and enforcement powers are already operational, and the investigations into Apple and Google are proceeding under the new rules.
The real test of UK digital competition enforcement is unfolding now. Regulators have the power. The question is whether they will use it boldly enough to matter. Proton’s warning is simple: delay too long, and the rules become just words on a page.
Edited by the All Things Geek team.
Source: TechRadar
