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The former Amazon executive installed as the new chairman of the competition watchdog is facing questions about whether he will recuse himself from a decision to investigate the tech giant.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is considering an investigation into Amazon and Microsoft’s grip on the cloud computing market, after a review by an independent panel found on Tuesday they may be making excessive profits.
It comes a week after ministers appointed Doug Gurr, Amazon’s former UK boss, as the chairman of the CMA, having sacked his predecessor for failing to outline how the watchdog would encourage growth.
The CMA’s board, led by Mr Gurr, must decide whether to launch an investigation into Amazon and Microsoft under new anti-monopoly powers in the coming months.
The watchdog did not comment on whether Mr Gurr, who ran Amazon’s UK arm until 2020, would be involved in the decision.
However, one leading competition lawyer said the regulator would face questions about its independence.
“If you were a concerned user about cloud services there could certainly be a perception of a conflict. You could make the argument [that there’s a conflict of interest] and ask some hard questions of the CMA chair,” they said.
“The commentary at the moment is Government intervention has got rid of someone well regarded, they’ve stuck in a tech guy, there will clearly be questions about the decisions the CMA takes, that’s a reasonable question to ask about whether it skews the independence of the regulator,” the lawyer said.
The CMA’s conflicts of interest policy states that “conflict risks may also arise from past, current or future positions held outside the CMA”, although it states that past positions are only relevant if held in the last two years.
CMA move ‘is not warranted’
The regulator has clashed with tech giants in the last year over a series of investigations into Silicon Valley companies’ power, leading to claims that it is choking growth and investment.
On Tuesday, an independent CMA panel recommended that the regulator launch a full investigation that could see AWS and Microsoft should be given strategic market status. This designation could lead to strict interventions such as capping charges or technical changes that would make it easier to switch cloud provider.
An Amazon spokesman said such a move “is not warranted”, adding: “Cloud computing has lowered costs for UK businesses… we urge the CMA to carefully consider how regulatory intervention in other areas will stifle innovation and ultimately harm customers in the UK.”