Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024

80 Duty to preserve information

(1) A person to whom any of subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) applies must not, without reasonable excuse—

(a) destroy, otherwise dispose of, falsify or conceal, or

(b) cause or permit the destruction, disposal, falsification or concealment of,

any relevant information.

(2) This subsection applies to a person where the person knows or suspects that a breach investigation or a PCI investigation is being or is likely to be carried out in relation to an undertaking.

(3) This subsection applies to a person where the person is, or is connected to (see section 118(3)), an undertaking that is not a designated undertaking and knows that the undertaking is the subject of an initial SMS investigation.

(4) This subsection applies to a person where the person is, or is connected to, a designated undertaking and knows that—

(a) the undertaking is required to produce a compliance report under section 84, or

(b) the undertaking is the subject of a further SMS investigation.

(5) This subsection applies to a person where the person is, or is connected to, an undertaking and knows or suspects that the CMA is assisting, or is likely to assist, an overseas regulator in carrying out, in relation to the undertaking, any of its functions which correspond or are similar to the functions of the CMA under this Part (see Chapter 2 of Part 5 (provision of investigative assistance to overseas regulators)).

(6) For the purposes of this section, relevant information is information which the person knows or suspects is or would be—

(a) relevant to the investigation mentioned in subsection (2), (3), (4) or (5), as the case may be,

(b) used by an undertaking to produce the compliance report, or

(c) relevant to the provision of assistance to the overseas regulator.