CMA Opens Investigations into Apple and Google

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority opened investigations into Apple and Google. It should assess both companies’ mobile ecosystems, aiming at OSes, app stores, and browsers.

The CMA explained the probes would explore whether the mobile activities of both companies should be subject to tougher scrutiny, looking into the impact on people who use the platforms and on developers who create apps and services. The body would assess the extent of competition within both mobile ecosystems, what barriers may be in place to prevent competitors from offering rival products, Apple and Google’s market power in favoring their apps and services, and if the two companies are providing fair terms to app developers.

The probe is the second to fall under the new Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act, which came into force this month and allows the CMA to designate a small group of companies as having strategic market status. The CMA recently opened its first case under the act against Google over its search and advertising practices. Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said OSes, apps, and browsers act as a gateway to the digital world, and more competitive mobile ecosystems could foster new innovations and new opportunities across services.