Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what citizens' rights over their own data will the Competition and Markets Authority's Digital Marketing Unit (a) promote and (b) enforce.

The CMA market study into online platforms and digital advertising highlighted that weak competition leads to consumers having less choice and control over their data. The CMA proposed a new pro competition regime for digital markets, including measures to improve consumer control over their data, such as opt-ins for personalised advertising and measures to improve how consumer choices around data collection are presented.

On the 27th November, the UK Government announced the establishment of a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. A new Digital Markets Unit (DMU), housed in the CMA, will be set up to begin to establish the new regime and will work closely with key regulators including the ICO and Ofcom.

We will consult on the design and implementation of the new pro-competition regime in 2021, building on the work of the Digital Markets Taskforce, who published their advice to the Government on 8th December. Following the consultation, we will legislate to put the DMU on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Government is committed to a regime which will boost innovation and growth across the economy, unlocking the full benefits of digital markets for consumers.