The Competition and Market’s Authority (CMA) has made a major step in addressing the vast online search market dominance held by Google after receiving new regulatory powers.
The competition regulator, having completed an initial investigation to determine the extent of Google’s control of the search market, has proposed designating the tech giant as having Strategic Market Status (SMS), which if approved would allow it to take further action.
The SMS designation is a recent feature of the newly powered-up CMA following the passage of the Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act last year.
As per the legislation, the competition watchdog can define companies as having SMS if they are found to have excessive presence and control in a given market.
Google is among the first firms to have been investigated under the act, with the probe having been launched back in January.
The watchdog’s probe has found that Google search accounts for over 90% of all online search enquires in the UK, acting as the primary gateway to the internet for the vast majority of consumers and businesses.
The CMA has also warned that Google’s level of dominance in online search gives it an unreasonable amount of power in advertising and publishing.
A final decision on Google’s SMS designation will be made in October and if the CMA’s proposal is followed, it will be able to introduce targeted measures to address specific aspects of the company’s search business in the UK.
“Today marks an important milestone in our implementation of the new Digital Markets Competition Regime in the UK. Alongside our proposed designation of Google’s search activities, we have set out a roadmap of possible future action to improve outcomes for people and businesses in the UK,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell.
“These targeted and proportionate actions would give UK businesses and consumers more choice and control over how they interact with Google’s search services – as well as unlocking greater opportunities for innovation across the UK tech sector and broader economy.”
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