The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a consultation on designating Google with strategic market status for its general search and search advertising services under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The proposal includes a roadmap of potential interventions including mandatory choice screens for search providers, fair ranking requirements, enhanced publisher controls, and data portability measures. The designation would cover Google's AI-based search features but excludes its Gemini AI Assistant. If designated, the CMA could implement initial measures from late 2025, with more complex interventions planned for 2026. The consultation closes on 22 July 2025, with a final decision due by 13 October 2025.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published proposed decisions to designate Apple and Google with strategic market status (SMS) under the UK’s new digital markets regime. The designation would apply to each company’s mobile platform, which together account for 90–100% of UK mobile devices. Announced on 23 July 2025, the proposals include roadmaps for potential actions aimed at addressing concerns around app store practices, interoperability, and consumer choice. A final decision is expected by 22 October 2025.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a call for input on its proposal to review the purpose of the assimilated Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation, Assimilated Regulation 316/2014 (assimilated TTBER). The CMA is seeking views from stakeholders about whether to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade pursuant to the Competition Act 1998 (CA 1998) about whether the assimilated TTBER should be replaced when it expires on 30 April 2026 and if it is replaced, if it should be varied. The CMA also proposed to review the Technology Transfer Guidelines (Guidelines) that accompany Regulation (EU) 316/2014, the EU Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (EU TTBER). The consultation will close on 6 September 2024.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that Google abused its dominant position in the UK ad tech market since at least 2015 by using anti-competitive practices in open-display ad tech. The CMA is concerned that Google is using its dominance in the ad tech space to give preference to its own services, thus placing competitors at a disadvantage and preventing them from competing on a level playing field. This has been done by giving its ad exchange, known as 'AdX', exclusive or preferential access to advertisers that use Google Ads, manipulating advertiser bids to give them a higher value when submitted into AdX's auction, and allowing AdX to bid first in auctions run by DoubleClick For Publishers, a publisher ad server also operated by Google, for online advertising space, effectively giving it a right of first refusal. The CMA believes that this anti-competitive conduct is ongoing.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released a progress update on its market investigation into the supply of mobile browsers and browser engines, and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices in the United Kingdom, after the recommencement into this investigation on 24 January 2024. The progress update highlighted that the CMA published its first set of working papers, alongside commissioning two primary research projects on smartphone users and web developers, and also published the key findings from the qualitative research with smartphone users; and the full report from qualitative research with web developers. The CMA also plans to hold hearings with Apple and Google in July 2024, and is expected to publish its provisional decision report in October 2024. The CMA has a statutory deadline of 16 March 2025 for the final decision. Submissions in response to the working papers must be made by the deadlines set out in each of the working papers. For the working papers published in this document—The nature of competition in the supply of mobile browsers and browser engines; The requirement for browsers operating on iOS devices to use Apple’s WebKit browser engine; and Access to browser functionalities within the iOS and Android mobile ecosystems, responses should be submitted by 22 July 2024.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its 2024–2025 Annual Plan following consultation performed in 2023. This Annual Plan updates the CMA’s near-term Areas of Focus for the next 12 months, as the regulator takes on new responsibilities under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, expected to receive Royal Assent in April 2024, which aims to strengthen the CMA’s ability to foster competition, innovation, and growth in digital markets and to protect consumers. The CMA also welcomes the decision to place consumer protection law on a par with competition law through the new administrative enforcement model and notes that with the ability to issue tougher fines, this considerably strengthens its ability to protect consumers from commercial harm and deter non-compliant businesses. However, for the longer-term, the CMA considers that the fundamental forces that shape the external environment in which the economy operates, and that informed its strategy, have not materially changed, and have even accelerated. The Annual Plan accordingly makes only limited changes to its longer-term direction.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its draft annual plan for 2026–27, setting out how it will deliver the five strategic objectives in its 2026 to 2029 Strategy, with a core focus on promoting effective competition, championing consumers and supporting government through tailored pro‑competition interventions. The plan highlights the CMA’s intention to continue implementing the 4Ps framework (Pace, Predictability, Proportionality and Process) across all areas of its work. It also explains that stakeholders may provide views through a public consultation on the proposed priorities, which will inform the CMA’s finalised plan for the year ahead.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its AI strategic update, which highlights how it is making sure consumers and businesses take advantage of the developments in AI. The update also highlights how the CMA is ensuring that the potential risks and harms of AI are mitigated, the anticipated changes to its powers, how it is working with others on AI issues and its next steps.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published the terms of reference for its newly established Consumer Forum, which has been created to bring together senior stakeholders from leading consumer representative organisations to ensure that consumer perspectives remain central to the CMA’s work. The Forum forms part of the CMA’s broader strategy to promote competition and protect consumers, with the stated aim of driving economic growth and improving household prosperity.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to formalise regulatory coordination with key UK authorities under the Digital Markets Competition Regime. The MoUs involve the ICO, the Bank of England and PRA, the FCA, and Ofcom. They outline collaboration frameworks for enforcing the Digital Markets Competition Regime and addressing shared responsibilities in overseeing digital markets, ensuring coherent approaches to regulation and compliance.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published the results of its consultation on the Prioritisation Principles, which ran between July and August 2023 and sought views on proposed updates to the Prioritisation Principles. The Prioritisation Principles set out the factors that the CMA considers before deciding whether to act in the areas which are subject to its remit and where it has discretion to act (save where these are governed by a separate prioritisation framework). The CMA proposed to update them to reflect changes to the context in which it operates since they were published in 2014 (including, for example, Brexit).

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a notice of approval of changes to the agreed timetable and project plan under the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017. The updated timetable and plan are set out on page three of the notice.