CMA grants Google Search Strategic Market Status under UK digital rules

New Delhi: The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has designated Google Search with Strategic Market Status under the country’s new digital markets regime, signalling that the company will likely face updated rules and regulations on how its search services operate.

According to Oliver Bethell, Senior Director of Competition at Google, UK businesses and consumers “have been amongst the first to benefit from Google’s innovations, often months before their European counterparts. As a result, they see significant value: Google Search contributes billions of pounds a year to the UK economy, £118 billion in 2023 alone.”

Bethell noted that the UK has so far avoided restrictive regulations on widely used services such as Search, allowing the country to access “the latest products and services before other countries.” 

He added that imposing onerous rules could risk “inhibiting UK innovation and growth, potentially slowing product launches at a time of profound AI-based innovation,” and could also harm businesses, with some “warning that they may be forced to raise prices for customers.”

Google said it supports the CMA’s objective to ensure the UK’s competition framework mirrors the best interests of UK consumers and businesses and expressed hope that forthcoming outcomes would reflect these priorities.