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An investigation group has been set up by the UK Antitrust Authority I found it temporary Apple’s policies “hinder innovation in the browsers we use to access the web on mobile phones.”
While the report focused primarily on Apple, it also highlighted its revenue-sharing agreement with Google, noting that the duo “generates significant revenue” when using Google Chrome on iOS, reducing their “financial incentives to compete.”
The announcement comes in the same week that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said Google should pull its Chrome browser, after a judge ruled in August that the internet giant was acting as an illegal monopoly in online search.
Our findings today have been a long time coming. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a market study in 2021, looking at Apple and Google’s mobile dominance, including practices and policies around their app stores and browsers. The following year, the CMA confirmed that it would launch a formal antitrust investigation into the Android and iOS “mobile duopoly”, focusing on browsers and cloud gaming, stating at the time that it had concerns that it might restrict competition and harm consumers.
Today, the CMA said it would not proceed with the cloud gaming aspect of its investigation, due to changes Apple has already made that “appear to have positive impacts on competition in this market,” the report noted.
However, there are still many other complaints. The CMA said Apple was forcing rival UK mobile browsers to use Apple’s browser engine, And I criedWhich limits what these browsers can do and limits their ability to differentiate. Furthermore, browsers using WebKit have not received the same level of access and functionality as Apple’s Safari browser, which “has a negative impact on competition and innovation.” It also includes restrictions on how third-party apps can take advantage of so-called “in-app browsing,” which means accessing the open web from within native iOS apps.
“We have found that Apple’s restrictions temporarily limit the traffic available to competing browsers in this type of browsing and also limit the extent to which apps can personalize the browsing experience for their users, as companies with millions of users like Meta want to do.” The report notes. “We have temporarily found that this limits competition and choice in terms of the options available to app developers to offer in-app browsing.”
An Apple spokesperson said it disagreed with the findings, and any changes could ultimately “compromise user privacy and security.” The official spokesman said:
“Apple believes in thriving, dynamic markets where innovation can flourish. We face competition in every sector and jurisdiction in which we operate, and our focus is always on the trust of our users. We disagree with the report’s findings regarding Safari, WebKit, and in-app browsing on iOS. We are concerned that the interventions discussed in the report for future consideration under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act would undermine user privacy and security and hinder our ability to make the kind of technology that sets Apple apart. We will continue to work constructively with the CMP as their work on this issue progresses“.
This is a common phrase that Apple has used in other similar complaints it has faced, including an expansive lawsuit launched by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) earlier this year, which accused Apple of structuring its privacy and security practices to the company’s advantage. Financially.
A Google spokesperson said: “The openness of Android has helped expand choice, lower prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps,” adding that it “will continue to engage constructively with the Capital Markets Authority on these matters in the coming months.”
The bottom line from all this is that nothing will really change at the moment. But the investigation suggests that the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act, rules which are due to come into force next year, should be used by the CMA to tackle these practices.
For now, the CMA said it is inviting further comments on its interim results, and expects to make a final decision by March 2025.
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