The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching so-called “strategic market status” (SMS) investigations into the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google.
The investigations constitute part of the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) which passed last year and came into effect in January. The Act includes provisions for digital markets regulation — this includes giving the CMA the powers to designate specific companies as having strategic market status if they are deemed to be overly dominant in a given market, and propose remedies and interventions to improve competition.
The CMA announced its first such SMS investigation last week, launching a probe into Google Search’s massive market share which is reportedly around the 90% mark. The regulator announced at the time that a second one would be coming in January, and we now know that it’s now using its fresh powers to establish whether Apple and Google have strategic market status in their respective mobile ecosystems, which covers things like browsers, app stores, and operating systems.
‘Holding back innovation’
Today’s announcement doesn’t come as a major surprise. Back in August, the CMA said it was closing a duo of investigations into Apple and Google’s respective mobile app ecosystems, which it had launched starting back in 2021. However, the CMA made it clear at the time that this would be more of a pause, and it would be looking to use its new powers to address competition concerns around the two biggest players in the mobile services market.
Then in November, an inquiry group set up by the CMA concluded that Apple’s mobile browser policies and a pact with Google were “holding back innovation” in the U.K. The findings noted that Apple forced third-party mobile browsers to use Apple’s browser engine, WebKit, which restricts what these browsers are able to do in comparison to Apple’s own Safari browser, and thus limits how they can effectively differentiate in what is a crowded market.
As part of its new probe, the CMA has now confirmed that it will probe “the extent of competition between and within” Apple’s and Google’s respective mobile ecosystems, including any barriers that may be preventing other competitors from competing. This will include whether either company is using their dominant position in operating systems, app distribution, or browsers to “favour their own apps and services” — many of which are bundled by default and can’t always be uninstalled.
On top of that, the CMA said it would look into whether either company imposes “unfair terms and conditions” on developers that wish to distribute their apps through Apple or Google’s app stores.
Today’s announcement kickstarts a three-week period during which relevant stakeholders are invited to submit comments as part of the investigations, with the outcomes expected to be announced by October 22, 2025. While it’s still early days, potential remedies — in the event that Apple and Google are deemed to have strategic market status — include requiring the companies to provide third-parties with greater access to key functionality to help them better compete. It also may include making it easier to pay for services outside of Apple and Google’s existing app store structure.
