Apple and Google hit with UK antitrust probe into mobile ecosystems

LONDON — Britain’s competition regulator on Thursday launched an investigation into Apple and Google’s massive mobile ecosystems to determine whether the tech giants are violating the U.K.’s tough new digital competition rules.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority said it was opening dual investigations into each of the US tech giants to assess whether they have a “strategic market position” in their mobile ecosystems, including operating systems, app stores and smartphone-based browsers.

The investigations will explore the impact on people who use mobile devices and the thousands of companies that develop innovative services or content such as apps for these devices. The Capital Markets Authority said.

“Apple believes in thriving, dynamic markets where innovation can flourish,” an Apple spokesperson told CNBC. “We face competition in every sector and jurisdiction in which we operate, and our focus is always on the trust of our users.”

An Apple spokesperson added: “In the UK alone, the iOS app economy supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and allows developers big and small to reach users on a trusted platform.” “We will continue to work constructively with the CMA as their work on this matter progresses.”

Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director of competition, said the company’s Android platform “has helped expand choice, lower prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps.”

“It is the only example of a successful and viable open source mobile operating system,” Bethell said, urging “a way forward that avoids stifling choice and opportunity for UK consumers and businesses alike, and without risking the UK’s growth prospects.”

Earlier this week, in the UK Replaced CMA President Markus Bukerinck With Doug Gore, former Amazon UK country manager. At the time, the watchdog noted that regulators had been asked in a recent meeting with the government to “remove barriers to business and refocus their efforts on promoting growth.”

Labor MP Dan Aldridge said via email that the launch of the CMA investigation into Apple and Google was “a crucial step forward in ensuring fair competition in our digital economy”.

“Companies like Apple and Google decide which ones we have access to and how much we pay,” he said in an emailed comment on Thursday. “These investigations will examine these practices, as they can stifle innovation and lead to higher prices for consumers.”