97% of all UK mobile internet browsing took place on browsers using either Apple or Google technology by 2021
The UK’s competition watchdog launched an in-depth investigation on 22 November into the dominance of Apple and Google in the market for cloud gaming and internet browsers on mobile devices.
The two Californian giants “have an effective duopoly on mobile ecosystems, which allows them to have control over operating systems, application stores and web browsers on mobile devices”, noted the competition authority (CMA).
Thus, 97% of all mobile internet browsing in the UK took place on browsers using either Apple or Google technology by 2021, the CMA said in a statement. The regulator will now conduct “an in-depth investigation into how Apple and Google dominate the mobile browser market and how Apple restricts games” on its app portal.
The UK has “more than 800,000 users of cloud video gaming services” and “distribution restrictions on mobile devices could hinder the growth of this sector” and penalize players, according to the competition police. The stakes are high: the CMA calculates the weight of the sector in the British economy at “several billion pounds”.
“Necessary Limitations”
At the same time, Apple and Google “have argued that restrictions were necessary to protect users”, according to the UK authority, which specifies that its investigation “will take these concerns into account and determine whether new rules are necessary”.
“We’ve helped millions of developers turn their brightest ideas into apps,” in a sector that creates “hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK alone,” Apple said in a statement released on Tuesday. at AFP. Google responded by saying it is “committed to building open and thriving platforms that empower consumers and help developers build successful businesses.”
Its Android platform “gives users more choices of apps and app stores than any other mobile platform,” the group said. The CMA is conducting several investigations and proceedings to try to limit the prominence of Gafa (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) in the online technology market.
The European Commission and the US Competition Authority (FTC) and many US states have also launched investigations and prosecutions against Gafa.