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UK Watchdog Finds Apple and Google’s Mobile Browser Policies Stifle Innovation

A Competition and Markets Authority report highlights anti-competitive practices in the mobile browser market, with potential remedies under review.

An image about Apple and Google might face new rules as UK finds they are 'holding back innovation'
Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
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Overview

  • The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that Apple and Google's dominance in the mobile browser market hinders competition and innovation.
  • Apple's requirement for browsers on iOS to use its WebKit engine limits competitors' ability to offer differentiated features and delays access to platform functionality.
  • Revenue-sharing agreements between Google and Apple reduce financial incentives for competition, according to the CMA's findings.
  • The CMA's new Digital Markets Unit may impose remedies if ongoing investigations grant Apple and Google 'Strategic Market Status' under updated UK antitrust laws.
  • Potential remedies include mandating alternative browser engine support on iOS, regulating browser choice prompts, and banning revenue-sharing agreements between the two companies.