Google is under investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for potential anti-competitive practices in the search and online advertising markets, marking the first major test of the country’s newly implemented digital market regulations, Bloomberg reports.
The probe centers around concerns that Google’s dominant position is distorting competition and hindering innovation.
The CMA will assess whether Google should be designated with “strategic market status” in the sector. This designation, made possible by the new rules that came into effect this month, would grant the CMA significant powers, including the ability to demand information, impose substantial fines, and implement remedies to foster greater competition.
“The CMA will assess how competition is working and if Google is using its position to prevent innovation by others,” the regulator said, highlighting its focus on ensuring a level playing field in the digital marketplace.
This investigation is the latest in a series of global regulatory actions aimed at curbing the influence of powerful tech firms. The announcement arrives as Google faces a US order to divest its Chrome browser and as the prospect of a second Trump administration looms, which has already expressed its intent to further scrutinize major technology companies.
While Google’s representatives have yet to comment on the probe, the CMA has outlined that under the new digital markets competition regime, it could impose behavioral requirements on Google. These could include measures to share collected data with other businesses or grant publishers more control over their data usage.
The investigation, expected to span nine months, will specifically examine Google’s dominance in search and search advertising and its impact on consumers, advertisers, news outlets, and rival search engines. Of particular concern is whether Google’s market position allows it to unfairly influence the development of new artificial intelligence-based search technologies, including “answer engines.” The CMA will also probe whether the company is leveraging its dominance to prioritize its own services, like shopping and travel, over competitors.
The CMA has said that Google currently accounts for over 90% of all online search queries in the UK, raising significant concerns about its potential to stifle competition.
