Legal Storming ahead Derek Millard-Smith and James Harvey, from BPA Lawline, on a new digital dawn for parking payment methods he parking sector currently sits in the eye of an evolving legal and digital storm. Evolution and adaptation are key to survival. We will leave discussions on specific elements of the Parking Code of Practice for another day. However it is settled, the private and public parking sectors will be required to keep up with the constantly shifting landscape of technology and technological innovation, and linked legislation, to meet the expectations of government and increasingly tech-savvy consumers. Applicable laws must try to keep up and anticipate what the future may hold. Most recently, we have seen the UK government strive to implement robust measures to counter the expansion, intrusion and reach of big tech firms. In response to concerns around big T tech monopoly, we have seen the establishment of the Digital Markets Unit (DMU), which, for now, falls under the umbrella of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The DMU currently has no statutory power and is preparing for the implementation of a statutory regime. Understanding this and engaging with it in advance of implementation may assist parking organisations to put in place compliance measures in plenty of time. Trust, fairness, transparency In October 2021, the government concluded a three-month consultation process focusing on promoting competition within digital markets. One of its aims was to procure feedback on championing trust, fair trading and transparent choices for consumers the goal being to achieve greater control for data subjects over how their data is used. While some readers may be sceptical about the effectiveness and subsequent balance applied to consultation outcomes, we would hope to see a fair and nuanced approach to this new regime and institution. With a significant proportion of the parking sector focusing With the DMU to be given legislative teeth in the near future, parking companies should consider their use of technology, share in the market, and how they process users data 30 britishparking.co.uk PN May 2022 pp30-31 Legal.indd 30 21/04/2022 11:34