The UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has closed its probes into the app stores run by Google and Apple, Bloomberg reports.
The CMA says they’ll be able to better tackle the dominance of big tech companies like Google and Apple with these new powers which will give them the ability to impose hefty fines on companies that break the rules.
The UK’s new digital market laws, which are set to come into effect this fall, will allow the CMA to specifically target certain activities of big tech companies that have a lot of power in the market. This is different from the EU’s approach, which applies rules to all big tech companies in a blanket way.
The CMA is still deciding what specific issues they’ll address first, but app stores are likely to be a big focus. They’re hoping these new rules will create a fairer playing field for app developers and consumers in the UK, according to the report.
The CMA’s Executive Director for Digital Markets, Will Hayter, said it’s important that tech businesses in the UK have access to a fair and competitive app ecosystem.
