The new digital markets competition regime came into force on 1 January 2025 and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now launched its first investigation on Google under its new powers.
Under the new digital markets competition regime, the CMA can designate certain businesses as having strategic market status (SMS) in relation to a particular digital activity. The designation means the CMA can then impose conduct requirements or propose pro-competition interventions that benefit UK consumers and businesses.
The designation can only take place after an investigation, and the CMA has announced that its first SMS designation investigation will be to assess Google’s position in search and search advertising services.
According to statistics provided by the CMA, Google accounts for more than 90% of all general search queries in the UK, and more than 200,000 UK advertisers use Google’s search advertising.
Search is a key digital service, with many businesses reliant on being found by potential customers in internet searches. The CMA estimates that effective competition in this area could reduce the costs of search advertising.
The investigation will involve assessing how competition is currently working and whether Google is using its position to prevent others being able to innovate. It will also look at whether Google is using its market position to self-preference its own services, as well as whether there is any potentially exploitative conduct in its use of consumer data and use of publisher content.
Once the investigation is completed, which must be within 9 months, the CMA will announce its findings and any potential conduct requirements.