The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Wednesday that it has designated Apple and Google as companies with strategic market positions in their respective mobile platforms. The decision affects companies’ operating systems, app stores, browsers and browser engines, and allows regulators to take targeted action to increase competition in this area.
The CMA launched an investigation into Apple and Google in January and recommended intervention in July, suggesting the tech giants could be given a strategic market position (SMS) designation. To reach its conclusion, the CMA consulted with more than 150 stakeholders and consulted with both Apple and Google. The decision was reached that Apple and Google “have strong and established market power and strategic positions in their respective mobile platforms.”
Among other findings, the CMA found that UK mobile device owners are less likely to switch between Apple and Google’s mobile platforms once they have adopted their preferred ecosystem. He noted that for both platforms, companies need to distribute apps through app stores to reach consumers.
Notably, he also said that new technologies like AI are “unlikely to eliminate the market power of Apple and Google within the specified five-year period.”
“Apple and Google’s mobile platforms are used by thousands of businesses across the economy to market and sell products and services to millions of customers, but the platform’s rules can limit innovation and competition,” Will Hayter, executive director of digital markets at the CMA, said in a statement.
However, the CMA added that specifying the platform in the SMS was not a finding of wrongdoing. Instead, regulators can consider “appropriate and targeted interventions to ensure that mobile platforms are subject to effective competition and that consumers and businesses that rely on Google and Apple are treated fairly,” the statement said.
Apple and Google have pushed back against the decision, with Apple warning that it could prevent UK users from getting new features in a timely manner, something that has already happened with Apple Intelligence. Google also said it did not know the basis for this decision.
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A statement released by Apple and shared with TechCrunch reads:
“Apple faces intense competition in every market we operate and works tirelessly to create the best products, services and user experiences. The UK’s adoption of EU-style rules would undermine those rules and protect user privacy. It will weaken security, delay access to new features, and leave a fragmented and non-seamless experience. We have seen the impact of the restrictions on Apple users in the EU, and we urge the UK not to follow the same path.”
Updated with Apple’s comment.
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