The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated an investigation into Google’s search services under the new UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC).
This is said to be “first” strategic market status (SMS) designation investigation of the CMA, focusing on Google’s position in the UK search and search advertising sectors.
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The investigation will evaluate whether Google holds a strategic market status in these sectors and consider imposing conduct requirements if a final designation decision is made.
Google’s dominance in search services, with more than 90% of general search queries in the UK, will be scrutinised to assess its impact on consumers and businesses, including advertisers, news publishers, and rival search engines.
The UK government highlighted the significance of effective competition in digital services adding that “it is critical that competition works well. Effective competition ensures people benefit from greater choice, new and innovative services, and have control over their data.”
The statement further emphasised the role of search services as a route to access news, ensuring fair treatment for publishers.
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By GlobalDataFor businesses, effective competition could reduce search advertising costs, equivalent to nearly £500 per household annually, potentially lowering prices across the economy.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the regulator was probing Google’s dominance of the search market to ensure a “level playing field, especially as AI has the potential to transform search services”.
“It’s our job to ensure people get the full benefit of choice and innovation in search services and get a fair deal – for example in how their data is collected and stored. And for businesses, whether you are a rival search engine, an advertiser or a news organisation, we want to ensure there is a level playing field for all businesses, large and small, to succeed.”
Effective from 1 January 2025, the DMCC regime, aims to curb anti-competitive behaviour in digital markets.
The CMA can designate firms with SMS for specific digital activities and impose conduct requirements or propose pro-competition interventions to benefit UK consumers and businesses.
The marketing watchdog’s investigation into Google’s search services is expected to conclude by October 2025.
The CMA investigation follows a bid from the US Department of Justice, as reported by Bloomberg, seeking Google to divest its Chrome browser .
