The UK watchdog will investigate whether Google is using its market position to prevent rivals from innovating.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced an investigation into Google over its search and advertising practices. The inquiry was launched under the new digital markets competition regime, which came into effect at the start of this year and gives the watchdog extended powers.
The watchdog is investigating whether Google has strategic market status in UK-based search and search advertising sectors, as well as the impact that these services are having on individuals and businesses, such as advertisers, news publishers and rival search engines.
In a CMA statement, the organisation reiterated the importance of a competitive market, explaining that the lack of a monopoly would keep search advertising costs down, equivalent to nearly £500 per household annually, which in turn would lower costs across the wider economy.
Areas to be assessed under the investigation will include whether or not Google is using its position to prevent rival organisations from innovating, as well as any potential barriers to entry that are preventing alternative companies from accessing the market. The CMA will also query if Google is influencing AI development in a manner that reduces competition for its own search functions.
Additionally, there will be an investigation into potential exploitative conduct by the tech giant. More specifically, the CMA will look at how Google collects and deploys large-scale consumer data in relation to informed consent and the use of publisher content without fair terms and conditions. SiliconRepublic.com has reached out to Google for comment.
The investigation has nine months before it must be concluded and “potential conduct requirements could include, for example, requirements on Google to make the data it collects available to other businesses or giving publishers more control over how their data is used including in Google’s AI services”.
Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the CMA, said: “Millions of people and businesses across the UK rely on Google’s search and advertising services, with 90pc of searches happening on their platform and more than 200,000 UK businesses advertising there.
“That’s why it’s so important to ensure these services are delivering good outcomes for people and businesses and that there is a level playing field, especially as AI has the potential to transform search services.”
There was a similar case in the US last year, which saw Google on the losing side of an antitrust investigation that declared the company, by virtue of its default app status on many devices, held an unfair monopoly.
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