The CMA opened a consultation on potential harms of algorithms to competition and consumers.
A consultation that will last two months: On 19 January 2021, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a consultation on the potential harms caused by algorithms on competition and consumers. The public consultation is open until 16 March 2021.
Which potential harms has the CMA identified? The CMA’s ‘algorithms paper’ shows that personalisation of prices and other aspects of what the CMA calls ‘online choice architecture’ can lead to direct harms for consumers. Competition can also be directly damaged if algorithms end up excluding competitors or facilitating self-preferencing or collusion.
Discussions with industry will now take place: The CMA will is seeking views from academics and the industry on the harms outlined in the paper, which will inform its Analysing Algorithms Program and the work of the new Digital Markets Unit. The CMA will also host an online event on the topic on 25 January 2021.
