The UK competition authority has closed its investigations into Apple and Google’s respective app stores while it awaits the passage of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, which is intended to give it more power to curb the dominance of big technology companies.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigations into Apple and Google were based on the Competition Act, which came into force in 1998, and that it had decided to close the two cases ahead of the DMCC regulation, which is due to come into force next month.
The new law revises the existing Competition Act 1998 and the Companies Act 2002, while introducing new provisions on competition law and the protection of consumer rights.
The CMA launched investigations into Apple and Google over concerns that the two companies are “using their market positions through the Play Store and App Store respectively to set terms that could be unfair to UK app developers and limit competition and consumer choice, potentially leading to higher prices and less choice for app users”.
Other major concerns cited were the proliferation of apps and the lack of in-app payment options.
In a statement announcing the closure of the investigation, the regulator said: “While the CMA has not yet made a decision on which digital activities or harms it will address first, it expects that its initial work under the new competition regime for digital markets will build on and leverage its experience in areas already investigated, such as mobile ecosystems, which include app stores.”
The CMA added that it had discontinued both proceedings on grounds of administrative priority, and said the DMCC law, which will determine whether Apple and Google have “strategic market status” in respect of any digital activities in the mobile market, would enable it to address anti-competitive concerns in a “more holistic” manner.
