The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has issued Google with its first designation under its new digital rulebook, but complainants and lawyers are divided as to whether the new regime is moving too slowly amid ongoing political pressure.
The CMA announced today that it has designated Google as having strategic market status in general search and search advertising services under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, marking the first designation since the law came into force on 1 January.
The agency said it expects to begin consulting on possible interventions later in the year, which could include forcing Google to implement default choice screens for search services and ensure more “control and transparency” for publishers over how their content is collected in Google’s AI Overviews service.
The CMA confirmed that the designation covers the company’s AI tools on its search platform, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, but will not capture the Gemini AI assistant. It said it will keep this under review, given the uncertainty around how the market is developing.
Since the agency launched a call for views in June on its preliminary decision to designate the technology company, it said it has received feedback from over 80 stakeholders and has had “constructive engagement” with Google.
The agency launched the SMS probe into Google’s online search and related advertising services in January. Nearly 10 days later, it also opened its SMS probe into Google and Apple’s mobile ecosystems, opening a consultation on its designation proposal in July.
Today’s designation follows considerable pressure from the UK government in recent months for the CMA to facilitate its growth mission. In January, finance minister Rachel Reeves controversially sacked the agency’s former chair Marcus Bokkerink in favour of former Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr.
US President Donald Trump has also recently criticised foreign regulations that he claims discriminate against US companies.
In its response to the designation, Google warned that many of the CMA's intervention proposals would inhibit innovation and growth, potentially slowing product launches and leading to higher prices for customers.
Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director for competition, said in a blog post today that “Google supports the CMA’s goal to ensure the UK’s competition framework mirrors the best interests” of consumers and businesses.
“We hope to see outcomes that reflect such ambitions in the crucial months ahead,” he added.
He said the UK has so far avoided costly restrictions on Google’s popular services. Retaining this position means avoiding “unduly onerous” regulations and learning from the negative results in other jurisdictions, such as the EU, which have cost businesses an estimated €114 billion.
‘Under strict instructions’
A lawyer, speaking anonymously due to client conflicts, said that the CMA is “treading lightly” because it is under “strict instructions” from the government to ensure that its interventions firmly factor in growth and do not deter investment in the UK.
But Timothy Cowen, Preiskel & Co partner and co-founder of Movement for an Open Web, the complainant in the CMA’s Google Privacy Sandbox case, said the CMA continues to “rigorously enforce the law”, despite pressure and lobbying efforts.
“I don’t see the CMA as having softened its approach at all,” he said, noting that the EU has recently “taken the lead” in fining Google €2.95 billion for its abusive conduct with relation to advertising technology, where Movement for an Open Web is the lead complainant.
“We are looking forward to the CMA keeping up with the EU, which appears to be setting the pace now,” Cowen added.
A spokesperson for non-profit Foxglove, which filed a complaint to the CMA in July against Google, told GCR that while the agency has recognised that Google AI Overviews poses a threat, it is moving “far too slowly” when “urgent action” is needed.
“It needs to move urgently" to stop the threat Google poses to independent journalism, they said.
News Media Association chief executive Owen Meredith said the CMA’s decision to designate Google is a “turning point” in the fight for a competitive UK digital economy.
“The CMA must now push ahead with remedies and put in place a robust set of conduct requirements to ensure publishers have genuine control over when and how their valuable content is used: that means real transparency, meaningful consent, and fair payment,” he said.
“By taking this action, the CMA is ensuring the long-term sustainable growth of the UK tech and creative sectors,” he added.
Counsel to Google
Slaughter and May