UK CMA Designates Apple and Google with with Strategic Market Status in Mobile

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that both Apple and Google have Strategic Market Status (SMS) in mobile, subjecting them to more stringent competition rules. The designation comes less than two weeks after the CMA designated Google’s Search and search advertising services as having SMS as well.

“The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today confirmed that the legal tests have been met to designate both Apple and Google with strategic market status (SMS) in each of their mobile platforms,” the CMA announcement notes. “These platforms cover operating systems, app distribution, browsers and browser engines on smartphones and tablets.”

Following in the footsteps of—and closely modeled on—the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) regulations, the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 led to a new digital markets competition regime this past January. That, in turn, gave the CMA additional authority to improve competition in digital markets that do business in the UK. And as with the DMA and DSA, we are starting to see a familiar pattern of Big Tech platforms coming under increased and well-deserved scrutiny and pushback.

The CMA launched investigations of Apple’s and Google’s respective mobile platforms in January, published its initial findings in July, and then got feedback from over 150 stakeholders before arriving at a final decision. Now, the CMA has confirmed what’s already obvious to everyone: Apple and Google both wield monopoly power over their mobile platforms. Or as the CMA puts it, “Both have substantial, entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance.”

Designating Apple’s and Google’s mobile platforms with SMS is not an indication of wrongdoing. But this allows the CMA to launch specific investigations into competitive abuse and intervene quickly when necessary.

“The CMA [will] ensure that mobile platforms are open to effective competition, and that consumers and businesses that rely on Google and Apple can have confidence that they are treated fairly,” the announcement notes. “Apple and Google’s mobile platforms are used by thousands of businesses right across the economy to market and sell products and services to millions of customers, but the platforms’ rules may be limiting innovation and competition.”

This is perhaps a bigger deal than is immediately obvious. The CMA tends to follow the EU Competition Commission and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) when it comes to antitrust investigations and sanctions, and this additional oversight could help force Big Tech companies to change their ways internationally, not just in specific locales. And there are no bigger Big Tech abuses than in mobile, especially in the restrictive app store policies, unfair fees, and locked-in payment systems.

“This decision is disappointing, disproportionate and unwarranted,” a Google statement retorts. What else could they say?