The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has formally launched an antitrust investigation into Apple and Google’s strategic market status in the region due to their mobile ecosystems. This follows a previous BGR report that the UK watchdog wanted to investigate the companies for antitrust violations in the app stores and Safari/Chrome.
This is the second of three investigations the CMA will conduct over the next six months. According to a press release, the watchdog wants to understand Apple and Google’s position in their respective mobile ecosystems, which include the operating systems, app stores, and browsers that operate on mobile devices.
Similar to the European DMA, the CMA wants to “explore the impact on people who use mobile devices and the thousands of businesses developing innovative services or content such as apps for these devices.”
The CMA says these investigations are important as 94% of the UK population over 16 years old have a smartphone, and they spend an average of three hours a day using a mobile device. In addition, almost 15,000 businesses are involved in the development of apps used in the region, which is why the watchdog wants to understand if Apple and Google are helping make the economy grow or if they’re holding back innovation, which is an argument used by the European Commission.
The issues that will form part of the CMA’s investigations include:
- The extent of competition between and within Apple’s and Google’s mobile ecosystems. The CMA will assess how competition is working across Apple’s and Google’s mobile ecosystems and what barriers may be preventing other competitors from offering rival products and services on Apple’s and Google’s platforms.
- Possible leveraging of Apple’s and Google’s market power into other activities. This will include investigating whether Apple or Google are using their position in operating systems, app distribution, or browsers to favor their own apps and services, which often come pre-installed and prominently placed on iOS and Android devices.
- Potential exploitative conduct. This will include investigating whether Apple or Google are requiring app developers to sign up to unfair terms and conditions before distributing their apps on Apple’s and Google’s app stores and whether users may be presented with ‘choice architecture’ that makes it difficult to make active choices about which apps they are using on mobile devices.
Both investigations will end on October 22, 2025. A new investigation will be announced within the first six months of the regime’s coming into force following the announcement of its search investigation.
