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| Apple and Google's monopoly restricts competition and choice |
Britain's competition authority has given the clearest indication yet that it may target tech giants Apple and Google and interfere with the country's future competitive framework.
This includes monopolizing the cellular market for iOS and Android, app stores, browsers, and services bundled with mobile devices running the operating system.
The competition and market regulator said it has provisionally found that Apple and Google can use their market power to create a largely self-sufficient ecosystem.
She added that the level of closure imposed by the company harms competition and makes it very difficult for any other company to enter into the new system and compete in a meaningful way.
Autorité de la concurrence et des marchés has published the first part of a large-scale study on the mobile ecosystem market.
“The regulator fears that this will lead to reduced competition and meaningful customer selection,” the regulator wrote in a press release.
It also seems that people are missing out on all the benefits of innovative products and services, such as so-called web apps and new ways to play games via cloud services on iOS devices.
The regulator said it was also concerned that consumers could face higher prices in a more competitive market, including Apple phones, app subscriptions and in-app purchases.
The AMC study highlighted a number of known competition concerns about how tech giants use their platforms to maintain control over mobile devices, including aggregate services, personal preferences, terms and conditions that restrict third-party developers, and certain fees charged by each individual. 30% commission for some in-app payments.
The CMA is also investigating the Apple App Store after developers complained about unfair terms. Although the investigation was conducted in accordance with UK competition rules.
Users lost due to the monopoly of Apple and Google
Regulators continue to participate in Google's proposal for a privacy sandbox. This is a well-known plan by Google to end Google Chrome's support for tracking cookies and switch to an alternative ad targeting technology.
The proposals have angered advertisers, who fear the move will increase Google's power in the market. The Capital Markets Authority participated in the consultations regarding the adoption of a number of Google's commitments. This may include a regulator to assure the market as a whole that it is playing a fair role.
Combined with constant antitrust monitoring of the digital giants. The UK has an internal plan to modernize competition rules and solve the problem of the market power of big tech companies.
Ministers hope to be pro-competitive and suggest addressing this problem through early regulation of the tech giants. But the process is still waiting for the necessary legislation to start.
While waiting for new skills to solve this problem, authorities have worked to deepen their understanding of the dynamics of the digital market. Understand the general problems tech giants face when facing allegations of monopoly and anti-competitive behaviour.
In addition, both companies argued that many of these controls were necessary to maintain the general safety and quality of service for their users.
They also stated that in some cases these elements are important to help protect users' personal information. The Board agrees that these considerations are very important. However, he fears that for these reasons Apple and Google will make decisions about why they prefer their services. and reduce smart decisions when other methods are available.