Existing laws not enough to tame Facebook and Google, UK government told

The UK’s competition watchdog is calling for the government to introduce tough new rules to rein in the power of Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL), following a year-long review into the digital advertising market.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday it was recommending a new regulatory regime complete with enforcement powers to try and open up competition in the digital advertising market.

“Existing laws are not suitable for effective regulation,” the CMA said, calling for “a new pro-competition regulatory regime”.

The proposals are aimed squarely at Google and Facebook, which between them control 80% of UK online advertising.

“Through our examination of this market, we have discovered how major online platforms like Google and Facebook operate and how they use digital advertising to fuel their business models,” CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said in a statement.

“What we have found is concerning — if the market power of these firms goes unchecked, people and businesses will lose out.

“People will carry on handing over more of their personal data than necessary, a lack of competition could mean higher prices for goods and services bought online and we could all miss out on the benefits of the next innovative digital platform.”