Events | Thursday, 4 March 2021 | 12:00 pm GMT / 1:00 pm CET | Watch the recording

Regulating digital platforms in the UK - what can we expect?

How to regulate digital services and markets is near the top of the agenda on both sides of the Channel: and, post-Brexit, policy makers are competing to get the balance right between protection and innovation. Join us on Thursday, 4 March 2021 to explore the UK’s plans and what they mean for you.

The UK government announced in November 2020 its intention to establish a dedicated Digital Markets Unit to enforce a new competition regime for digital platforms with “strategic market status”. In the following month, it published its final consultation response in relation to its proposals to regulate online harm, paving the way for the introduction of an Online Safety Bill in 2021.

Both of these new regimes will come at a time when the EU is introducing equivalent measures to regulate digital platforms. In December last year, the Commission published its Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA). The DMA enables the Commission to designate certain online platforms as “gatekeepers” and require their compliance with new competition obligations while the DSA sets out liability and transparency rules for online intermediaries (including online marketplaces, search engines, social media sites and other platforms).

While both the EU and the UK are broadly aligned in their objectives, the extent to which their post-Brexit regulatory approach to digital services will diverge is yet to be determined. As part of our virtual event series ‘Shaping Europe's Digital Future’, we are delighted to host our webinar on the incoming UK regulation of digital platforms on Thursday, 4 March 2021. Our speakers will provide you with an overview of the UK proposals, including the rules for illegal and harmful content expected in the Online Safety Bill and what the new UK competition regime and the role of the Digital Markets Unit can be expected to look like. We will also cover how businesses operating across Europe will need to navigate these new UK frameworks alongside the EU’s DSA and DMA.