Apple and Google have launched a British antitrust investigation into mobile ecosystems
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Britain’s competition watchdog on Thursday launched an investigation into the vast mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google to determine whether the tech titans are breaking Britain’s tough new digital competition rules.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it was opening dual investigations into both US tech giants to assess the position they have in their mobile ecosystems, including operating systems, app stores and smartphone-based browsers.
The investigations will “explore the impact on people who use mobile devices and the thousands of companies that develop innovative services or content such as apps for those devices,” said the CMA.
The CMA now has enhanced regulatory powers after a new UK law called the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act, or DMCC, came into force earlier this year.
DMCC seeks to prevent anti-competitive behavior in digital markets. It may designate large companies that have significant market power in a particular digital activity as having “Strategic Market Status.”
The CMA now has the power to impose changes to prevent potentially anti-competitive behavior by any company granted strategic market status.
