Google faces first major probe under tough new UK antitrust rules

LONDON – Britain’s competition watchdog on Tuesday opened an investigation into Google search services, marking its first major investigation under the country’s strict new competition rules.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it is looking to assess whether Google has “strategic market status” (SMS) under the new UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act (DMCC).

The DMCC, which officially came into effect on January 1, aims to prevent anti-competitive behavior in digital markets. Designating a company with “SMS” would give the regulator the power to impose changes to prevent anti-competitive behavior.

Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said the regulator was investigating Google’s dominance of the search market to ensure a “level playing field”, especially as artificial intelligence is changing the way people search online. .

“Our job is to ensure that people get the full benefit of choice and innovation in search services and get a fair deal, for example in the way their data is collected and stored,” Cardell said.

“And for businesses, whether it’s a rival search engine, an advertiser or a news organization, we want to ensure there is a level playing field for all businesses, large and small, to succeed,” he added.

The CMA’s action follows an attempt by the US Department of Justice to force Google to get rid of its Chrome browser. The Justice Department filed to break up the internet giant after discovering it has a monopoly in the search market.

The regulator on Tuesday highlighted Google’s dominant position in the UK search market as a main point of concern.

Google accounts for more than 90% of all general search queries in the UK and more than 200,000 advertisers in the country use the company’s search advertising tools, according to the CMA.

Search is “vital to economic growth”, the CMA said, explaining that its role in connecting businesses with other businesses, investors and customers means it is “critical” that competition works well.

“Google Search helps millions of UK businesses grow by reaching customers in innovative ways. Today’s announcement from the CMA recognizes this,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC via email.

“We will continue to work constructively with the CMA to ensure that the new rules benefit all types of websites and continue to allow people in the UK to benefit from useful and cutting-edge services,” the Google spokesperson added.

The CMA added that effective competition in search was needed to ensure fair treatment of news publishers for the use of their content.

With the emergence of new AI-based search methods such as OpenAI and Perplexity, the CMA said it is also concerned that Google’s position in the market could put new and innovative players at a disadvantage.