Tag: CMA

CMA and Unilever row might send a warning to greenwashers

Posted on December 14, 2023 by - News

Nearly every company claims to be sustainable and environmentally friendly, but regulators are getting snarky when companies overegg the pudding.

Unilever, the multinational consumer goods company behind well-known brands like Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, is under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over allegations that it may be exaggerating the environmental friendliness of some of its products.

The CMA said it is cracking down on companies suspected of engaging in “corporate greenwashing” as customers want to make more sustainable choices.

The CMA’s primary concern is that Unilever may be misleading consumers with vague and broad statements regarding the environmental attributes of products. The watchdog points to the use of language and imagery on packaging that could potentially overstate the eco-friendliness of these products.

Ofcom orders probe into cloud industry

Posted on October 6, 2023 by - News

The dark satanic rumour mill has manufactured a hell-on-earth yarn claiming that Ofcom is set to order the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to probe the UK’s cloud industry over anti-competitive practices.

One cloudy company has been tipped off that there will be a recommendation to the CMA to open an inquiry into the cloud market for competitive reasons.

The source further said the CMA’s investigation would likely encompass aspects such as egress fees, data portability and interoperability.

It may even extend to examining software licensing and its potential to influence the market dynamics.

Watchdog sniffs out the Adobe-Figma merger

Posted on August 28, 2023 by - News

The Competition and Markets Authority has found that the proposed Adobe-Figma merger could potentially negatively affect the UK digital economy.
The CMA found that this acquisition is restricting some digital apps, websites and other products in the country, ultimately harming the country’s digital economy as businesses using these tools get affected.

Adobe is well known in the global software industry and specialises in photo editing, video editing, motion designing and other such interactive content tools while the 2012-founded Figma is a leader in screen designing and whiteboarding tools.

Screen designing software is crucial for making digital products and they are extensively used for making websites and applications. In September last year, Adobe announced that they are buying Figma for $20 billion.

Cloud suppliers promise not to harm customers

Posted on November 7, 2016 by - News

lightning-cloudThe UK Competition and Markets Authority has managed to get a promise from BT, Dropbox, Google and Mozy that they will not try to screw over cloudy punters with dodgy terms and conditions.

Apparently the four were compelled to take the pledge after the CMA started peering into cloud service providers’ contract terms and tutting that they discriminated against consumers.

After making its pledge, BT had promised that “free accounts will not be terminated due to inactivity during the first 365 days of the contract”. It has also promised to give 90 days’ notice in writing when it wants to zap unused cloud backup accounts. It also “agreed to amend” its terms and conditions, which at present give it the right to unilaterally change prices on a whim.

Dropbox has promised not to kill customers’ accounts without notice. Apparently that right existed in the terms and conditions and no one spotted it.

Google has agreed to “ensure consumers are given an opportunity to remedy their breaches” before terminating their accounts, as well as giving 30 days’ notice of a price increase “or storage plan decrease”.

The search engine outfit will now ensure that consumers can bring legal proceedings in their local courts and under their local laws if it breaks the terms of its own contract

Mozy, which provides Windows and Mac OS X backup services, made much the same promises as BT and Dropbox.