Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (c. 13) – Section 269 – Defence of due diligence

Sections

Section 269Defence of due diligence

Prospective (not yet in force)

legislation.gov.uk marks this Section as prospective as at 7 October 2026: it has been enacted but not yet brought into force. The text is shown as enacted.

(1) It is a defence for a person (“the defendant”) charged with an offence under section 268(1) to prove—

(a)
that the commission of the offence was due to—
- (i)
  the act or omission of another person, or
- (ii)
  reliance on information given by another person, and
(b)
that the defendant took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by the defendant or any other person under the defendant’s control.

(2) A defendant is not entitled to rely on the defence provided by subsection (1) without the permission of the court unless—

(a)
the defendant has served on the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information as was then in the defendant’s possession identifying, or assisting in the identification of, the other person, and
(b)
the notice is served on the prosecutor at least seven clear days before the hearing of the proceedings or, in Scotland, at least seven clear days before the trial diet.

Annotations

Commencement Information

I1 S. 269 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 339(1)

https://dmcca.digiphile.law/article/article-269.html

Text as at 7 October 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in October 2026.