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Key findings
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The British competition authority has closed investigations into Alphabet’s Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expects that the concerns will instead be taken into account in a new competition regime for digital markets.
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Google is also under scrutiny by regulators in the UK, the European Union and the US because of its partnerships in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
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US regulators are investigating Apple for similar reasons as in the CMA case.
The British competition authority has opened an investigation into Alphabet’s (GOOGLE) Google Play Store and Apple’s (AAPL) App Store, although the tech giants’ app stores could still face regulatory security issues due to new rules.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expects the concerns to be addressed instead under a new competition regime for digital markets, the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA).
Concerns to be considered under the UK DMCCA
The UK DMCCA is similar to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Its focus is on preventing large online platforms from abusing their market position to restrict competition.
The agency opened its investigation into the Apple App Store in 2021 and its Google Play Store case in 2022 over concerns that the companies were abusing their market positions to set “unfair” terms for developers and users. The UK’s DMCCA became law in May, shortly after the EU’s DMA came into force.
The closure of the case does not prevent the CMA from reopening an investigation into the impact of app stores on competition in the future. The CMA has indicated that it may do so.
“Once the new pro-competitive regime for digital markets comes into force, we may consider applying these new powers to concerns we have already identified through our existing work,” Will Hayter, CMA’s executive director for digital markets, said in a press release.
Google and Apple face further antitrust proceedings in Europe and the USA
The CMA is investigating Google and Amazon’s (Amazon) Artificial intelligence (AI) partnership with Anthropic. The AI partnerships of several major technology companies are being scrutinized by antitrust authorities in the UK, US and European Union.
The US is also investigating Apple for possible antitrust violations on a similar basis to the CMA case after an agreement was reached with the EU.
Alphabet shares lost 1 percent while Apple shares were little changed early Wednesday. Since the beginning of the year, the shares have gained 18 percent and 17 percent respectively.
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