Antitrust watchdog UK sets sights on Google Search

Antitrust watchdog UK sets sights on Google Search

Google’s search engine is being scrutinized by the UK’s Competitions & Markets Authority (CMA). The investigation revolves around Google’s market position and its impact on organizations and consumers.

It is the CMA’s first investigation this year based on new legislation. Like the European Union, the United Kingdom recently passed a law that more heavily regulates digital markets. As of Jan. 1, the U.K. law went into effect.

Its purpose is to determine whether Google holds a “strategic market status” (SMS) in the market. If the conclusion is that there is indeed a case of SMS, the CMA can propose measures to make competition fairer. Exactly how that will play out remains to be seen. This is the first time the new legislation has been applied. Nevertheless, the CMA is known to be a strict antitrust monitor, which is why, for example, Nvidia’s acquisition of Arm ultimately fell by the wayside. Objections to that deal proved enough for the latter to raise the white flag before a final CMA decision arrived.

Read more: Nvidia and Arm counter UK regulators’ deal blockage

Broad interpretation

The legislation gives the CMA wide latitude to deal with various aspects of a given market position. For example, the investigation will figure out whether Google’s market position in search engines and advertising is disruptive to the overall market. In addition, the watchdog is paying attention to the impact Google has on consumers and organizations, including advertisers, news publications and competing search engines.

In the announcement, the CMA is not merely critical. For example, the authority points out that a good-functioning search engine is critical to economic growth and helps companies find each other, investors and customers. In addition, the data generated are of great value, although this is where doubts about Google’s dominance arise. The CMA concludes that competition must be vibrant for search services to be as effective and accessible as possible.

Google already has a roadmap

Google is in the crosshairs of multiple authorities and for multiple reasons. For one, there are also doubts about the power that parent company Alphabet has in the browser market, making a split of Chrome and Google’s search engine conceivable. On top of that, both Google and Apple are both in trouble because of their power over mobile app stores, which is also not the last word on the subject.

While other research poses an existential threat to Google’s structure, that does not seem to be the case here. The CMA’s wording is critical, but already implies there are some ways out for Google to resolve any issues, such as by not integrating AI answers by default and processing user data only after consent is given. These are measures that partially apply in the European Union, which has seen Google reduce its own search engine in select areas to basic without integrations with Maps or summaries directly under the search bar. Such compromises would undermine the user experience, according to the company, but are a signal that Google feels compelled to compromise.

Also read: DMA forces Google to make major changes within EU