Antitrust goes one step further! Apple and Google will face UK CMA "duopoly" investigation

Author | Gao Xiusong

According to a statement released by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the agency is carefully examining whether Apple and Google have a "duopoly" in the supply of operating systems (iOS and Android), app stores (App Store and Play Store) and web browsers (Safari and Chrome), and said that this may cause consumers to suffer losses in a wide range of areas.

The CMA defines a “mobile ecosystem” as “the gateway through which consumers can access a wide range of products, content and services”, meaning the investigation will cover a range of services and products from fitness trackers to smart home devices.

The CMA said that because of the so-called duopoly, consumers could pay higher prices for devices and apps or other goods and services due to higher advertising prices; and that the two companies' control of the mobile ecosystem could stifle competition in the digital market, leading to "reduced innovation" across the industry.

The investigation will also look at the impact of the two companies' market power on other businesses, such as app developers and advertisers, which rely on Apple or Google to market their products to customers through their phones. The CMA is already investigating Apple's App Store policies, but this investigation into the mobile ecosystem will be broader.

Andrea Coscelli, CMA chief executive, said: “Apple and Google control the main gateways through which people download apps or browse the web on their phones – whether they want to shop, play games, stream music or watch TV. We are looking at whether this will cause problems for consumers and for businesses looking to connect with people on their phones.

“Our ongoing work in big tech has already identified some worrying trends, and we know consumers and businesses could be harmed if left unchecked. That’s why we’re working to launch this research now, while we establish our new Digital Markets Unit, so we can use the findings from this work to inform future plans.”

At present, the global antitrust competition has entered a white-hot stage. According to Leifeng.com (official account: Leifeng.com), in the past six months, technology giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon have suffered multiple antitrust investigations and lawsuits from both home and abroad: Google was fined about $270 million by the French competition regulator for abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising field; Facebook was investigated by the European Commission and the UK CMA for suspected monopolistic behavior in "online advertising market operations"; Amazon was sued for antitrust by law enforcement regulators in multiple U.S. states for "excessive pricing."

References:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-to-scrutinise-apple-and-google-mobile-ecosystems

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