The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an antitrust investigation into Google’s search services, following similar steps by Japan, the United States and the European Union. This is the CMA’s first investigation under the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act (DMCC), which came into force on January 1, 2025. The regulator previously announced the launch of two separate investigations this month.
The CMA’s investigation will focus on whether Google is hindering external innovation by favoring its own services and collecting or using data without users’ consent. “Millions of people and businesses across the UK rely on Google‘s search and advertising services – 90 percent of searches are conducted on their platform and over 200,000 UK businesses advertise there,” said Sarah Cardell, CMA chief executive, in a press release. “This is why it is so important to ensure that these services deliver good outcomes for people and businesses, and that there is a level playing field, especially as artificial intelligence has the potential to transform search services.”
The DMCC Act allows the CMA to designate certain companies with “Strategic Market Status” (SMS) in certain digital activities – in this case, Google’s search and advertising services. These companies must have a global turnover of £25 million or £1 billion in the UK.
This designation allows the CMA to have greater regulatory powers over these services and to implement directives aimed at protecting competition. For example, if the CMA designates Google’s search and display advertising services as “SMS,” it could force the company to share the data collected with competitors or give publishers more control over how Google uses their data. The investigation could last up to nine months, and the AMC is asking interested parties to submit their comments by February 3.
Google has resisted previous investigations into its search engine. However, in December, the company shared proposed changes to its search services in the United States after the Department of Justice urged it to sell Chrome.
