Fashion brands told to ‘stay on the right side of the law’ amid greenwashing claims September 18, 2024 Some of the most high-profile fashion brands in the UK have been warned to be clearer on their green credentials by the UK competition watchdog as it clamps down on misleading marketing. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a new sustainability compliance guide for retailers and told 17 brands to review their practices. [...]
Analysts see ‘path to approval’ for Vodafone and Three deal September 13, 2024 Although Britain’s competition watchdog has raised fresh concerns over the proposed £15bn tie-up between Vodafone and Three’s UK operations, analysts have suggested the findings of the latest probe are more positive than expected. In its provisional findings, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) flagged potential price increases for millions of mobile customers and warned of [...]
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 [...]