Apple and Google's 'Duopoly' over Mobile Markets is Anti-Competition - UK Regulator Claims

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom has launched another antitrust investigation into Apple and Google.

This time, the CMA is questioning how much control the tech companies have over the mobile industry. They released their final report on the UK government website after a year of investigation, and it's available for the public to read.

"Strong Duopoly"

According to the CMA's study, Apple and Google have a strong duopoly on mobile ecosystems, allowing them to stranglehold these marketplaces, which comprise OS systems, mobile web browsers, and app stores.

However, there has been no official investigation or inquiry announced. The CMA is still preparing and consulting on how to move forward.

Without the existence of interventions, the CMA believes that both corporations will maintain, if not strengthen, their dominance in the field, further reducing competition and decreasing incentives for innovators.

CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said that Apple and Google have made it challenging for British tech companies to compete with them and caused limited customer choice because of their overwhelming dominance.

The British regulator claimed that Apple and Google's respective browser engines accounted for 97 percent of "all mobile online browsing in the UK in 2021."

Apple requires developers to use its WebKit browsing engine, which the CMA thinks will discourage developers from developing quicker engines and improved browsers for Apple's platform. On an iPhone, you can install another browser, such as Google Chrome, but it will also run WebKit.

Apple prohibits third-party browser engines from being used on its mobile devices, a limitation exclusive to the company.

The CMA claimed that this would substantially limit competing browsers' ability to distinguish themselves from Safari, as well as Apple's incentives to invest in its browser engine.

"This restriction also seriously inhibits the capability of web apps - apps that run on a browser rather than having to be individually downloaded - depriving consumers and businesses of the full benefits of this innovative technology," CMA wrote in a press release.

"Anti-Competition"

In the proposed inquiry, Apple is expected to receive special scrutiny. For example, the CMA contends that Apple's App Store ban on cloud-based gaming is anti-competitive.

The CMA argues that gaming apps are a major source of revenue for Apple, and cloud gaming could seriously threaten Apple's dominance in-app distribution.

By blocking the growth of this industry, the UK regulator said that Apple risks depriving mobile consumers of the full benefits of cloud gaming,

It intends to use the results of its proposed review to determine which regions under Apple's control should be broken up and how. This could include court rulings requiring reform.

The investigation's consultation session will finish on July 22. The CMA will next decide whether or not to add this inquiry to the one Apple and Google are currently facing.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla