After Search, the CMA is now coming for Google’s mobile ecosystem dominance

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is tightening its grip, and it’s making sure Google doesn’t slip through its fingers.

Earlier this month, the regulatory body initiated an antitrust investigation into the Mountain View, California-based tech giant’s search engine and advertising market dominance, assessing whether Google holds a “strategic market status” in those markets. The CMA is now doing more of the same, but its focus has expanded to cover more avenues.

The CMA today launched an investigation to assess whether Google holds a strategic market status/dominance when it comes to its mobile ecosystem and connected services. For what it’s worth, Apple is under the same scrutiny, and the two investigations are running concurrently, as highlighted by TechCrunch.

The probe, similar to its predecessor, falls under Part 1 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024, and will culminate in October with the CMA declaring whether it found Google to be holding a strategic market status or not. Alongside or after the declaration, “the CMA may issue a Conduct Requirements Notice to Google, alongside any Interpretative Notes and Compliance Reporting Notice as soon as possible.”

The CMA is looking to investigate the following areas:

• Google’s mobile operating system, which is Android. As of June 2024, Android boasted a 53.96 percent market share in the UK, followed by iOS at 45.54 percent.
• How Google distributes apps, which is primarily through the Play Store.
• Google’s primary mobile browser and browser engine dominance, which are Chrome and Blink, respectively.

“The Play Store accounted for [90-100]% of downloads on Android mobile devices in every year since at least 2017 until 2022, and significant barriers exist for alternative native app distribution. The CMA is not aware of any potential future technological and/or other changes that would materially alter Google’s position over the proposed designation period, particularly given the strength of its market power and the substantial barriers to entry which reinforce its position,” wrote the regulatory body.

If found to be guilty, the CMA can intervene and impose pro-competition policies, which could include the tech giant having to open up “key functionality” needed by apps to operate on its OS and mobile devices, alongside making it possible for users to download and/or pay for apps and in-app content “more easily” outside the Play Store.

Interestingly, the CMA said that the announcement made today is the second of three intended digital activity investigations. The first one was connected to Google’s search engine and advertising market dominance. The current one is about its mobile ecosystem and connected services. The third one, we’re speculating, could be connected to its data collection practices, AI development, or even censorship.