Tech Industry: What You Need to Know Right Now

By Saghir Hussain · 1 October 2026

Regulatory crackdown on big tech

The UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has escalated its scrutiny of the dominant platforms that small businesses depend on for sales and marketing. In a recent statement, CMA chief executive James Henderson said, “The market is not working for small enterprises when a handful of tech giants control the algorithms, the data and the pricing structures.” The regulator is preparing to enforce the newly enacted Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, which gives it powers to intervene in the conduct of firms that “significantly affect competition” – a direct response to concerns that Google’s search rankings and Amazon’s “Buy Box” algorithm can marginalise local retailers.

The CMA’s investigation follows a series of high‑profile actions elsewhere in Europe, but its UK focus is distinct because of the country’s post‑Brexit trade landscape and the heightened pressure on small firms to survive rising living costs. In the north‑west of England, a recent survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that 68 % of its members reported “significant difficulty” in reaching customers after recent changes to Google’s local search results, which prioritised larger chains. While the FSB’s analysis is based on member feedback, the pattern reflects a broader industry trend: platforms are tweaking their algorithms to favour advertisers with deeper pockets, leaving independent shops with reduced visibility.

Platform fees and the cost of doing business

Beyond algorithmic visibility, the fees charged by the major platforms are biting into the margins of UK small businesses. Amazon’s referral fees for many product categories now range from 15 % to 25 %, a rise that the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has highlighted as “a direct contribution to the erosion of profit for small retailers”. In a press release, BRC director Helen Skelton warned, “If the cost of selling on these platforms continues to climb, many will be forced to exit the market altogether, reducing choice for consumers and jobs in local communities.”

Similarly, Google’s advertising arm, Google Ads, has increased its cost‑per‑click rates by an average of 12 % year‑on‑year, according to data from Statista (Q2 2024). For a boutique clothing shop in Manchester, this translates into an extra £1,200 in monthly spend to maintain the same level of online exposure. While Google argues that “higher bids reflect greater demand and better ad placement”, the reality for small operators is a tighter cash flow at a time when the UK’s overall inflation rate remains above 5 %.

AI and the future of small enterprise

The rapid rollout of generative AI tools is reshaping how businesses market themselves, but the benefits are unevenly distributed. The UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) released a report in March 2025 noting that “small firms lag behind larger corporations in AI adoption, often due to limited technical expertise and budget constraints.” The report quoted Dr. Maya Patel, a senior analyst at DSIT, saying, “Without targeted support, AI could widen the gap between the tech‑savvy giants and the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses.”

Conversely, some industry leaders argue that AI can level the playing field. Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet, told the Financial Times that “our latest search enhancements use AI to surface more relevant local results, helping consumers discover small businesses more easily.” If the algorithm changes are genuinely designed to surface local listings, the impact on small retailers could be positive – provided they have the resources to optimise their online presence.

Conclusion

The UK stands at a crossroads: regulatory reforms aim to curb the unchecked power of a few tech behemoths, yet the cost pressures and algorithmic shifts they impose already strain the nation’s 5.5 million small businesses. As the CMA prepares its first enforcement actions under the DMCC Act, the question for ordinary entrepreneurs is whether these measures will translate into fairer platform access or merely add another layer of bureaucracy. Will the promised “level playing field” become a reality for the high‑street shopkeeper in Leeds or the artisan bakery in Edinburgh, or will the tide of big‑tech dominance continue to shape the UK’s economic landscape?