British regulator is investigating whether Apple and Google are harming smartphone innovation

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced an investigation into the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google. The regulator wants to check both platforms for compliance with the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC), which was passed last year and came into force in January.

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The Act includes provisions to regulate digital markets, which gives the CMA powers to designate specific companies as having strategic market status if they have an overly dominant position in a given market. The regulator may also propose remedies to mitigate the situation and implement certain measures to increase competition.

A few days ago, the CMA launched the first such investigation, starting with an examination of Google’s huge share of the search engine (according to the agency about 90%) in the search engine segment. At the same time, a second investigation was announced, which, as it has now become known, will be devoted to determining the strategic market status of Apple and Google within their mobile ecosystems, covering such aspects as browsers, operating systems and app stores.

The announcement of new CMA investigations did not come as a surprise. In August last year, the department announced the termination of the investigation into the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google, which began in 2021. However, even then the department made it clear that this was only a suspension of inspections, and additional investigations would be launched in order to use new powers to resolve competition problems around the two largest players in the mobile services market.

Last November, a panel set up by the CMA concluded that Apple’s mobile browser policies and agreement with Google were “holding back innovation” in the UK. The group’s report said Apple forced third-party browser developers to use its own WebKit engine to limit the capabilities of their products compared to its Safari web browser.

As part of the new investigation, the CMA plans to examine the “extent of competition between and within” the Apple and Google mobile ecosystems, looking for any barriers that may be preventing competition from other market players. This includes assessing how companies use their dominant positions in mobile operating systems, app distribution and browsers to “favor their own apps and services,” many of which are installed on smartphones by default and cannot always be removed. The CMA will also check companies for imposing “unfair terms” on developers who want to distribute their products through Apple and Google’s digital content stores. The results of the CMA’s investigation are expected to be announced on 22 October 2025.