Part 1: Digital Markets Imposition of conduct requirements Section 20: Permitted types of conduct requirement
This section sets out an exhaustive list of permitted types of conduct requirements. The CMA may only impose conduct requirements which fall within at least one of these permitted types.
	Subsection (2) refers to requirements for the purpose of obliging particular conduct and subsection (3) refers to requirements for the purpose of preventing particular conduct. The specific conduct requirements imposed by the CMA may be framed as either obligations or restrictions, no matter whether they fall within types of requirements under subsection (2) or (3). For example, the CMA may impose a conduct requirement under section 20(3)(g) that prevents a designated undertaking from using data in a particular way or alternatively it may require the undertaking to keep two types of data separate.
	Subsection (2), paragraph (a) refers to requirements to oblige the designated undertaking to trade on fair and reasonable terms. Unfair or unreasonable terms may include requiring users to sign up to terms that would unreasonably limit their legal or proprietary rights or imposing a price on users that is unfairly high or low. Trade is undefined, and in this context has a broad meaning that includes how the designated undertaking provides the relevant digital activity or otherwise interacts with users and potential users. This type of conduct requirement is relevant even if the designated undertaking is providing a service to users for free, if that is part of the undertaking’s trade (for example the service may be monetised so that the undertaking gets the benefit of advertising revenue).
	Subsection (2), paragraph (b) refers to requirements to oblige the designated undertaking to have effective processes for handling complaints and disputes. This may include requiring the designated undertaking to have an effective appeals process in place when terminating a user’s access to a marketplace.
	Subsection (2), paragraph (c) refers to requirements to oblige the designated undertaking to provide users of the relevant digital activity with clear, relevant, accurate and accessible information about the activity. This could include, for example, ensuring there is a clear application and review process in place for assessing whether an application will be included in a designated undertaking’s application store.
	Subsection (2), paragraph (d) refers to requirements to oblige the designated undertaking to give advance notice and explanations of changes in the way the designated undertaking proposes to carry out the relevant digital activity where those changes are likely to have a material impact on the users. For example, a designated undertaking could be required to ensure that undertakings that rely on its marketplace are made aware of, and receive an explanation of, upcoming changes to search algorithms which may have a significant impact on how users interact with the marketplace, and that they receive a reasonable period of notice ahead of the changes coming into effect.
	Subsection (2), paragraph (e) refers to requirements to oblige the designated undertaking to present to users engaging with the relevant digital activity any options or default settings. This should be done in a way that allows those users to make informed and effective decisions about those options or settings in their own best interests. For example, where the relevant digital activity is a search engine, a designated undertaking could be required to make clear to users that this search engine is the default setting on a particular device and that there are other search engines available, and to ensure that information provided to users on how to switch search engines is clear and understandable.
	Subsection (3), paragraph (a) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from applying terms, conditions or policies differently to different users or types of users. Discriminatory policies may include treating users more favourably if they purchase other products from the designated undertaking.
	Subsection (3), paragraph (b) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from self-preferencing, i.e. treating its own products or services more favourably than those offered by other businesses.
	Subsection (3), paragraph (c) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from carrying out activities in non-designated areas of its business in a way that is likely to materially enhance the undertaking’s market power or position of strategic significance in relation to the relevant digital activity. This would include requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from carrying out non-designated activities in a way that is likely to reinforce or embed an undertaking’s market power and/or position of strategic significance. This may include, for example, preventing an undertaking with strategic market status in video streaming from including a default setting in its search engine which automatically redirects users to the designated undertaking’s video streaming service.
	Subsection (3), paragraph (d) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from incentivising or requiring the use of its services or products alongside the use of the relevant service or digital content in the designated digital activity. This includes conduct which is sometimes referred to as ‘tying’ or ‘bundling’, and may include, for example, preventing the designated undertaking from refusing to extend warranty or after-sales services where bundled products are not purchased together. This permitted type also encompasses a situation where a designated undertaking requires or incentivises the use of one part of the designated activity (e.g. a payment service) alongside another part (e.g. an app store).
	Subsection (3), paragraph (e) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from restricting the ability of the relevant digital activity offered by the designated undertaking to interact with and communicate with products offered by other undertakings. A designated undertaking could be prevented from, for example, restricting the functionality of certain applications on the designated undertaking’s operating system for third party developers.
	Subsection (3), paragraph (f) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from restricting whether or how users can access and use the designated digital activity. These restrictions could range from a blanket refusal to grant access to a particular platform to more implicit restrictions such as making access to a platform conditional on unfair terms.
	Subsection (3), paragraph (g) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from using data unfairly. This may include, for example, prohibiting the provider of a designated digital marketplace from preventing a third party seller using that marketplace from accessing any data about how users engage with the third party’s services or products, or prohibiting the designated digital marketplace provider from using third party sellers’ data to develop competing products.
	Subsection (3), paragraph (h) refers to requirements to prevent the designated undertaking from restricting the ability of their users to use products provided by other undertakings. This may include, for example, a designated undertaking restricting the functionalities of web browsers that compete with its own when using the designated undertaking’s operating system.
	Subsection (4) contains a delegated power for the Secretary of State to amend by regulation the list of types of permitted conduct requirement and subsection (5) clarifies that amending the list would be subject to the draft affirmative procedure, see section 337(3).