- App Fairness Coalition urges UK to crack down on Big Tech
- Proton CTO criticized lack of enforcement of existing competition laws
- Delaying law enforcement can stifle innovation, critics warn
The creators 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).
For everyday users, this lack of regulatory action has a direct impact on daily life on the Internet. Without adequate competition, the coalition warns, consumers are often trapped in predetermined, locked-in ecosystems that restrict choice, inflate prices, and limit access to stronger privacy and security features.
“Nothing 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 acting too slowly, allowing dominant platforms to consolidate their monopolies in mobile browsers, search engines and app stores.
“It is now widely understood that Apple and Google wield extraordinary power over the online economy,” Butler said after his appearance on the BBC, considering laws such as the DMCCA in the United Kingdom and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe, as “essential”.
Butler went on to explain that without strong competition rules, these companies “will continue to stifle innovation, limit consumer choice and create barriers for businesses across the UK’s digital economy.”
A group of companies have written to the Competition and Markets Authority to say more must be done to defend smaller technology companies. Bart Butler, CTO of Proton, a privacy-focused alternative to big tech services, tells @FelicityHannah that Google… pic.twitter.com/QTKK43Vf1pMay 29, 2026
Despite the regulatory tools now at the disposal of the UK government, Butler argues that the dithering has left the door open to continued monopolistic behavior that harms smaller start-ups and scale-ups.
“It is vital that we all recognize that we have seen virtually no meaningful action since the DMCCA was passed,” Butler said, arguing that Apple and Google still have “free rein” to continue doing what they believe is in their best financial interests, regardless of the impact on the broader industry.
“If regulators are not given the resources and muscle they need to properly enforce the rules, legislation will be nothing more than words on a page,” Butler added.
Protecting the age of AI
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 the IMF, the signatories point out that open and competitive markets are exactly what drive productivity and investment.
To prevent the United Kingdom from becoming what the House of Lords previously called a “incubator economy”, the coalition urges the UK government to adequately staff the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) and quickly translate existing research 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 continue as if nothing had happened for two years since the legislation was passed. This cannot be allowed to continue. If we don’t act now, it will soon be too late.”
