- Coalition for App Fairness urges UK to crack down on Big Tech
- Proton’s technical director criticized the lack of enforcement of existing competition laws.
- Delaying enforcement could stifle innovation, critics warn
The creators of one of the best VPNs and secure messaging 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, Bart Butler, Proton’s chief technology officer, 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 measures has a direct impact on daily life on the Internet. Without real competition, the coalition warns, consumers often find themselves stuck in default, locked-in ecosystems that restrict choice, inflate prices, and limit access to stronger privacy and security features.
“Just words on a page”
Passed with overwhelming cross-party support, the DMCCA was designed to break the hold of a small number of tech giants on the UK’s digital economy.
However, critics say regulators are moving too slowly, allowing dominant platforms to consolidate their monopolies on mobile browsers, search engines and app stores.
“It is now widely recognized that Apple and Google wield extraordinary power over the online economy,” Butler said after his appearance on the BBC, arguing that legislation such as the DMCCA in the UK and US The Digital Markets Act (DMA) in Europe is considered “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 business in the UK’s digital economy”.
A group of businesses have written to the Competition and Markets Authority to say more needs to be done to defend small tech companies. Bart Butler, CTO of Proton, a privacy-focused alternative to big tech services, told @FelicityHannah that Google… pic.twitter.com/QTKK43Vf1pMay 29, 2026
Despite the regulatory tools now available to the UK government, Butler says hesitancy has left the door open for continued monopolistic behavior that harms small startups and scale-ups.
“It is critical that we all recognize that we have seen virtually no meaningful action since the DMCCA was passed,” Butler said, arguing that Apple and Google continue to have “free rein” to continue doing what they believe is in their best financial interest, regardless of the impact on the industry as a whole.
“If regulators don’t have the resources and power they need to properly enforce the rules, the legislation will remain just words on a page,” Butler added.
Protecting the AI era
The open letter highlights a crucial moment: the rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
Specifically, the coalition warns that if current bottlenecks controlled by big tech are not addressed immediately, these market failures will simply be inherited from the AI era, extending the dominance of a small number of companies into the next generation of digital services.
The letter also strongly rejects the simplistic “growth versus regulation” narrative. Citing research from the OECD and IMF, the signatories emphasize that open and competitive markets are exactly what boosts productivity and investment.
To prevent the United Kingdom from becoming what the House of Lords previously called a “Incubation Economy’, the Coalition is urging the UK Government to properly staff the Digital Markets Unit (DMU) and quickly translate existing investigations into enforceable conduct requirements.
For Proton and its allies, the time for investigations is over.
“Speed is now everything,” Butler warned. “Tech giants have been able to continue business as usual for two years since the legislation was passed. This cannot continue. If we don’t act now, it may soon be too late.”
