{"id":286105,"date":"2025-07-23T20:35:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/286105\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T20:35:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:35:09","slug":"apple-and-google-declared-mobile-duopoly-by-uk-regulator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/286105\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple and Google Declared Mobile Duopoly by UK Regulator"},"content":{"rendered":"

As such, the CMA is proposing new guidelines for how the two tech giants operate in the U.K., according to a Wednesday (July 23) press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cApple and Google\u2019s mobile platforms are both critical to the U.K. economy \u2014 playing an important role in all our lives, from banking and shopping to entertainment and education,\u201d CMA CEO Sarah Cardell<\/a> said in the release. \u201cBut our investigation so far has identified opportunities for more innovation and choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CMA\u2019s investigation found concerns among businesses and customers about both companies, including \u201cinconsistent and unpredictable\u201d app review processes, which can lead to uncertainty for developers and delayed or failed launches, per the release.<\/p>\n

The regulator also found \u201cinconsistent app store search rankings,\u201d which could favor apps owned by Google and Apple, as well as commissions of up to 30% on some in-app purchases<\/a> and restrictions on developers \u201csteering\u201d customers outside the app stores, according to the release.<\/p>\n

The CMA\u2019s proposed conduct requirements for the companies could involve letting app developers guide users to better offers beyond the two app stores and giving consumers \u201ca genuine choice over the services they use on their devices,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n

In a Wednesday blog post<\/a>, Google Head of Competition Oliver Bethell<\/a> called the CMA\u2019s announcement \u201cdisappointing and unwarranted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe estimate that Android has saved developers over 1 million days they would otherwise spend adapting to different operating models for each smartphone \u2014 the equivalent of [300 million pounds (about $408 million)] in reduced costs,\u201d Bethell wrote. \u201cIt is therefore crucial that any new regulation is evidence-based, proportionate and does not become a roadblock to growth in the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Wednesday report<\/a> on the CMA\u2019s plans by The Wall Street Journal included this statement from an Apple spokesperson: \u201cWe\u2019re concerned the rules the U.K. is now considering would undermine the privacy and security protections that our users have come to expect, hamper our ability to innovate, and force us to give away our technology for free to foreign competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CMA said in January it would begin launching new investigations into Big Tech<\/a> thanks to the new \u201cdigital markets competition regime,\u201d which came into force Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

The new regime lets the CMA designate companies with \u201cstrategic market status\u201d in relation to certain digital activity and impose conduct requirements or pro-competition measures.<\/p>\n

While the announcement didn\u2019t mention Apple or Google by name, it came weeks after a CMA study determined the two companies\u2019 mobile ecosystem policies were \u201cholding back innovation<\/a>\u201d in the U.K.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As such, the CMA is proposing new guidelines for how the two tech giants operate in the U.K.,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[1662,748,46465,393,867,4884,24802,12,1144,3279,8948,712,16,15,1764,3281],"class_list":{"0":"post-286105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-apple","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-competition-and-markets-authority","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-google","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-mobile-applications","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-northern-ireland","18":"tag-pymnts-news","19":"tag-regulations","20":"tag-scotland","21":"tag-uk","22":"tag-united-kingdom","23":"tag-wales","24":"tag-whats-hot"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114904467477928911","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}