The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into the so-called “strategic market status” (SMS) into the mobile ecosystem of Apple and Google. The investigation is part of the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act (DMCCA) which was passed last year and came into force in January. The law includes provisions for the regulation of digital markets – this includes giving the CMA the power to determine that certain companies have strategic market status. The CMA announced its first SMS investigation last week, launching a probe into Google Search’s reported 90% market share. The regulator announced that the second one will come in January, and now we know that it is now using new powers to determine whether Apple and Google have a strategic market position in their respective mobile ecosystems, which include browsers, apps. stores, and operating systems. Under the new powers, the CMA can grant “SMS” status to companies deemed too dominant in a given market, and then propose remedies and interventions to increase competition. Today’s announcement begins a three-week period during which relevant stakeholders are invited to submit comments as part of the investigation, with the results expected to be announced on October 22, 2025. This is broken, refresh for updates.
