The UK’s competition regulator has launched its first investigation under new digital markets rules to examine the position of Google’s search services in the sector.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation would look to establish whether Google’s search and search advertising services should be designated with strategic market status (SMS).
If so, new digital markets competition rules which came into effect at the start of the year as part of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) would require the tech giant to follow certain conduct requirements or pro-competition interventions imposed by the CMA.
The investigation will also look at whether any conduct requirements may need to be imposed.
Last year, the CMA closed existing competition investigations into Google and Apple ahead of these new laws coming into effect, but previously said it expected to open three of four investigations under the new regime in 2025.
Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive, said: “Millions of people and businesses across the UK rely on Google’s search and advertising services – with 90% of searches happening on their platform and more than 200,000 UK businesses advertising there.
“That’s why it’s so important to ensure these services are delivering good outcomes for people and businesses and that there is 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.”
The CMA said its investigation must be completed within nine months, and would take feedback from stakeholders, as well as evidence from Google, before reaching a decision by October this year.
A Google spokesperson said: “People across the UK trust Google Search to help them find what they need.
“Google Search supports millions of UK businesses to grow by reaching customers in innovative ways.
“The CMA’s announcement today recognises that: ‘Search is vital for economic growth’.
“We will continue to engage constructively with the CMA to ensure that new rules benefit all types of websites, and still allow people in the UK to benefit from helpful and cutting-edge services.”
