UK gives Google Search special market position, paving the way for tighter regulation

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday granted Google special status in the online search market, allowing the regulator to enforce stricter regulations.

The CMA identified Google as having a “strategic market position” in the search and search advertising market. This means that the company occupies a “substantial and entrenched” position that requires special regulation to ensure fair competition.

“Google has long held an unparalleled position in this digital activity. Other traditional general search providers are much smaller than Google and have held that position for many years. Bing is the largest of these providers, but its current share of both queries and search advertising is less than 5%. No traditional general search provider has grown substantially compared to Google for at least 15 years,” the CMA said in its report.

The designation does not mean the CMA has found evidence of wrongdoing and does not immediately introduce any requirements, but it opens the door for further assessments to begin and interventions to change the way Google operates its search services in the country, the CMA said.

This designation covers Google’s search and online search advertising services. Includes AI-enabled search features like AI Overview and AI Mode, Discover feed and results, and Top Stories and News tabs. Google News apps and websites are not covered, nor are search syndication services.

However, the CMA said that while Google’s Gemini AI assistant is not currently subject to this designation, it will review the scope of the designation given the uncertainty about how the AI ​​search market will evolve.

The regulator said it would begin consultations on possible intervention later this year.

The move follows a nine-month investigation into the company that began earlier this year after Britain’s new digital market competition regime came into force in January. The CMA was seeking to establish whether Google was creating weak competition and “barriers to entry and innovation in search”. Whether companies prefer their own services over those provided by third parties. and when we use consumer data without explicit consent.

The CMA’s potential enforcement action roadmap could include: Allowing UK residents to select and switch search engines through a selection screen. Implementation of data portability system. Enforce fair ranking of search results. Ensure proper attribution of publishers’ works in search. Enable consent mechanisms for Google’s AI services.

Google says any post-designation interference would have a negative impact on innovation in the UK. “The UK has traditionally avoided costly regulation of popular services like search, giving us access to the latest products and services before other countries. Maintaining this position means avoiding overly burdensome regulation and learning from the negative consequences seen in other jurisdictions, which have cost businesses an estimated €114 billion,” the company wrote in a blog post.

“Many of the intervention ideas raised in this process could stifle innovation and growth in the UK, delaying product launches at a time when AI-based innovation is in full swing. Others warn that other ideas could cause direct harm to businesses, forcing them to raise prices for their customers.”