This week saw some key developments in connection with proposals for new digital markets regulation in the UK and the EU.

In the UK, the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum, grouping the CMA, ICO, Ofcom and FCA, launched a technology horizon-scanning program, to provide a coherent view of new and emerging digital markets and technologies, and how they should be regulated. In addition, as part of the UK’s G7 presidency, the CMA published a compendium of approaches to improving competition in digital markets, which include more enforcement and new ex ante regulation.

In the EU, the European Parliament approved an amendment to the proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA), which would allow any providers of “equivalent core platform services” to interconnect with a gatekeeper’s “number independent interpersonal communication services” (NI-ICS), such as messaging apps, or social network services upon their request and free of charge. This amendment echoes an interoperability requirement already contemplated in the recent EU Electronic Communications Code for NI-ICS – so it remains to be seen whether the two provisions (if the amendment is retained in the final text of the DMA) would complement each other or collide.