Britain on Wednesday told Apple and Google to be fairer in how they distribute apps on their mobile platforms, setting out possible interventions as it plans to designate the U.S. tech companies with strategic market status over their duopoly.
The country’s competition regulator, which was given a wider remit this year to take on Big Tech, laid out concerns relating to inconsistent and unpredictable app review processes, inconsistent app store search rankings, and up to 30 per cent commission on some in-app purchases.
The company, which has launched its own marketplace app in Europe, said it could not bring its app store to Apple’s mobile operating system (iOS) in Britain this year and said that Fortnite’s return to Apple’s iOS was also uncertain.
The regulator is also under pressure from Britain’s Labour government, which has called on regulators to prioritise growth in hopes of rejuvenating a stagnant economy to regain voter confidence.
A final decision on both the designations will be made by October 22, the CMA said. It also published roadmaps on potential further action as part of these parallel investigations.
A strategic market status designation allows the CMA to impose interventions on a company, such as requiring it to adhere to specific behaviour so as not to undermine fair competition.
For Alphabet-owned Google, mobile platforms are the second market where it has come in for closer scrutiny under the CMA’s new regime, following the watchdog’s proposal last month to designate Google in general search and search advertising.