Britain’s competition watchdog will probe Google in the first act under the new digital markets regime

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Britain’s competition watchdog has opened an investigation into Google to determine whether its position in search services should guarantee a special status for the company, potentially binding it to certain rules of conduct.

The Directorate for Market Competition and Markets said on Tuesday that it would consider whether Google’s position in search and advertising activities was “delivering good results for people and businesses in the UK”.

Google approached the Financial Times for comment.

The investigation is the first under the new competition regime in digital markets that came into effect this month. Under the new rules, the CMA will decide whether a small group of companies should be granted “strategic market status” and forced to comply with certain rules based on their size and influence in certain digital markets.