At the end of 2020, the UK government announced plans to create a Digital Markets Unit (DMU) charged with implementing an ex ante regulatory regime for certain digital platforms. This paper evaluates the challenges that the DMU will face, and argues that without a clear vision for what success looks like and how to manage the trade-offs involved, the DMU could easily become a hindrance to competition and innovation, instead of a positive force.
The authors – Sam Bowman, Sam Dumitriu and Aria Babu – provide a series of recommendations throughout Conflicting Missions to mitigate potential risks posed by the creation of the DMU, to ensure Britain can remain as competitive, innovative, and entrepreneurial as possible.