Proton CTO urges the UK to start enforcing competition laws against Big Tech before it's 'too late'

• The Coalition for App Fairness urges the UK to crack down on Big Tech
• Proton's CTO criticized the lack of enforcement of existing competition laws
• Delaying enforcement may stifle innovation, critics warn

The makers behind one of the best VPN and secure email services are demanding that the UK government stop dragging its feet and start enforcing competition laws against tech giants like Apple and Google.

Speaking on the BBC's Today Programme, Proton's Chief Technology Officer Bart Butler publicly backed an urgent open letter sent this week to the UK Government and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The letter, coordinated by the Coalition for App Fairness and signed by major tech players like Epic Games, Mozilla, and DuckDuckGo, warns that the UK's landmark Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) is failing to deliver on its promises due to sluggish enforcement.

For everyday users, this lack of regulatory action has a direct impact on daily internet life. Without proper competition, the coalition warns, consumers are often stuck with default, locked-in ecosystems that restrict choice, inflate prices, and limit access to stronger privacy and security features.

"Nothing more but words on a page"

Passed with overwhelming cross-party support, the DMCCA was designed to break the stranglehold that a small number of tech giants have over the UK’s digital economy.

However, critics argue that regulators are moving too slowly, allowing dominant platforms to entrench their monopolies across mobile browsers, search engines, and app stores.

"It’s now widely understood that Apple and Google wield extraordinary power over the online economy," Butler stated following his BBC appearance, deeming legislation, like the DMCCA in the UK and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe, as "essential."

Butler went on explaining that, without robust competition rules, these companies will "continue to stifle innovation, limit consumer choice, and create barriers for businesses across the UK’s digital economy."

Despite the regulatory tools now being available to the UK government, Butler argues that hesitation has left the door open for continued monopolistic behavior that harms smaller startups and scaleups.

"It’s vital we all recognise that we have seen next to no meaningful action since the DMCCA was passed," said Butler, arguing that Apple and Google continue to have "free rein" to keep doing what they believe to be in their best financial interest, regardless of the impact on the wider industry.

"If regulators aren’t given the resources and teeth they require to properly enforce the rules, the legislation remains nothing more but words on a page," added Butler.

Protecting the AI era

The open letter highlights a critical, ticking clock: the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence.

Specifically, the coalition warns that if the current bottlenecks controlled by Big Tech are not corrected immediately, these market failures will simply be inherited by the AI era, extending the dominance of a small number of companies into the next generation of digital services.

The letter also firmly rejects the simplistic "growth versus regulation" narrative. Citing research from the OECD and IMF, the signees point out that open, competitive markets are exactly what drive productivity and investment.

To prevent the UK from becoming what the House of Lords previously called an "incubator economy," the coalition is urging the UK Government to properly resource the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) and quickly translate existing investigations into enforceable conduct requirements.

For Proton and its allies, the time for investigations has passed.

"Speed is now of the essence," Butler warned. "Big Tech has been allowed to carry on as if nothing happened for two years since the legislation was passed. This cannot be allowed to continue. If we fail to act now, it may soon be too late."