UK competition watchdog investigates Apple and Google’s mobile platforms
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CMA examining impact of tech firms’ operating systems, app stores and browsers on consumers and businesses. The UK’s competition watchdog has launched investigations into the impact of Apple and Google’s mobile platforms on consumers and businesses, days after the government faced criticism for installing a former tech executive as the organisation’s new chair.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will investigate the tech firms’ mobile operating systems, app stores and browsers to determine whether both companies require tailor-made guidelines to regulate their behaviour. The move follows the government denying it was “in the pocket of big tech” after appointing Doug Gurr, a former country manager of Amazon UK, to chair the CMA.
The CMA said it will look at the impact of Google and Apple’s mobile platforms on consumers and businesses, including app developers. The watchdog said virtually all smartphones sold in the UK are pre-installed with Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating systems, while their respective app stores and browsers have privileged positions on their platforms compared with third-party products and services.
The watchdog will determine whether Apple and Google should be designated as having “strategic market status” under a new regulatory regime brought in under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC). If they are deemed to have that status, the CMA can impose “conduct requirements” or force changes such as making it easier for users to download apps outside Apple and Google’s own app stores.