Google parent Alphabet is facing the first investigation in the UK under strict new antitrust rules for the digital market, due to concerns that the company is distorting the market for online search and advertising services.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will decide whether the US technology giant should be designated with so-called strategic market status in the online search and advertising market. The new rules, which came into force this month, give the CMA more powers to demand information from companies, impose heavy fines and impose measures to increase competition.
“The CMA will assess how competition is working and whether Google is using its position to impede innovation by others,” the CMA said in a statement.
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The antitrust investigation is part of a series of high-profile investigations as global regulators seek to tackle the dominance of a handful of powerful technology companies. The announcement comes as Google fights a U.S. order to sell its Chrome browser and faces a second Trump administration determined to crack down on the biggest tech companies.
“Google Search supports millions of UK businesses to grow by reaching customers in innovative ways,” said a Google spokesperson. The CMA recognized that search is vital to economic growth and Google “will continue to engage constructively with the CMA to ensure the new rules benefit all types of websites”.
Under the competition regime in digital markets, the regulator can impose conduct requirements on Google, such as directing it to make the data it collects available to other companies or giving publishers more control over how their data is used, the CMA said.
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The investigation, which is expected to last nine months, will assess “Google’s position in search services and search advertising and how it impacts consumers and businesses, including advertisers, news publishers and rival search engines.”
According to the CMA, Google accounts for more than 90% of all online search queries in the UK.
The investigation will focus on whether Google is able to shape the development of new artificial intelligence services, including “answer engines,” in anticompetitive ways and whether the search giant is using its market position to prioritize its own services, such as shopping and travel.
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