The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching investigations into Apple and Google over concerns about their dominance in smartphone browsers and mobile ecosystems. The CMA suspects they may be hindering innovation and holding a duopoly, which could lead to penalties similar to those imposed on Apple in the EU under the Digital Markets Act.
The UK's antitrust regulator is expected to begin an investigation into Apple and Google for possibly hindering innovation in smartphone browsers and holding a duopoly in mobile ecosystems . This isn't a new accusation, as the Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA ) already stated in November that it wanted to investigate these big tech firms.
According to Reuters, the UK watchdog will start an investigation into these two areas this month and, after about six months, launch an investigation into a third area. Each investigation will be completed within a statutory time limit of nine months. If the CMA finds that Apple and Google hold a duopoly, these antitrust allegations could result in solutions similar to those in the European Union with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In the EU, Apple has had to open the App Store to third-party marketplaces and offer third-party payment systems, allowing users to choose their default apps beforehand, such as their preferred browser. This trend of switching default apps for other options could continue. The CMA says the new regime would 'seek to maximize the attractiveness of Britain to tech companies while also ensuring choice and competitive prices.' Meanwhile, Apple will continue to release its latest features at its usual pace. However, some features have been delayed for European markets due to the DMA. For example, Apple Intelligence will only be available for European users in April with the iOS 18.4 update. Another delayed feature was iPhone Mirroring. While this function was released with macOS Sequoia to all markets, European users had to wait an additional month until macOS 15.1 was made available. While Apple claims these delays are essential to meet the DMA's requirements, it's also a way to make customers angry about these changes with the European Commission—even though they could be angry at Apple as well
Antitrust Apple Browser Competition Google Mobile Ecosystems DMA UK Regulator CMA Innovation
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