The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Launching. Investigations into mobile ecosystems called “Strategic Market Situation” (SMS). Apple versus Google.
Investigations into digital markets; Part of the new Competition and Consumer Act (DMCCA) which one? I passed last year. It came into effect in January. The Act includes provisions for digital market regulation — which includes giving the CMA powers to designate companies in strategic market positions.
The CMA has announced its first SMS investigation. last weekAn investigation into Google Search's massive market share, reportedly close to 90%, has been launched. A second one was announced by the regulator in January, and we now know that Apple and Google are using their newfound powers to determine whether they have strategic market positions in their respective mobile ecosystems: browsers, browsers, etc. applications, stores, operating systems.
Under new powers, The CMA can confer “SMS” status on companies it deems excessively dominant in a given market and propose remedies and interventions to improve competition.
Today's announcement is that as part of the investigation, a three-week period during which interested parties are invited to submit comments is expected to be published on October 22, 2025, with the results expected.
This is intermittent and restart for updates.