Game Over? UK Government Challenges Apple & Google’s Mobile Monopoly!
In a pioneering development, the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK CMA, officially announced an investigation into tech giants Apple and Google, inquiring into their dominant market position in the mobile ecosystem. This is to be done under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act DMCC 2022, signed into law early this year, giving the CMA new powers of regulation.
The inquiry seeks to unveil if indeed Apple and Google should be given Strategic Market Status SMS, hence branding them as having undue dominance over the key digital market segment of mobile operations, app distribution platforms, and web browsers. Should they be found to have obtained SMS status, serious remedies would be invoked to address the competition concerns.
Key Areas of Investigation:
- Mobile Operating Systems: Android and iOS control the market, with Google’s Android retaining huge market penetration through deep integrations into the different devices.
- App Stores: Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store are being scrutinized for their control of app distribution and revenue models.
- Browsers and Browser Engines: Apple Safari and Google Chrome Blink have raised concerns about restrictive competition and innovation in the web browsing space.
Having explored similar issues in 2021 and then having paused its investigations to leverage the enhanced powers bestowed upon it by the DMCC Act, the CMA earlier advanced findings from its panel in November 2024 with a find that by virtue of policies and agreements governing browsers, Apple’s policies stifled innovation in the United Kingdom.
As a part of the existing investigation, stakeholders need to send in their responses latest by February 12, 2025, followed by a consumer survey, for which public comments will be sought until January 28, 2025.
The investigation follows a recent probe into Google Search, which has a staggering ninety-per-cent share of the market. This could mean that the two mobile ecosystems might face serious roadblocks in the UK market from flotation.
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