The United Kingdom has announced it will examine Apple and Google’s control over the mobile browser market.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it would take a closer look at mobile browsers and the ongoing concerns from developers and cloud gaming providers who say control over the mobile browser market was causing problems and stifling competition around the world.
Speaking of the news, interim CMA chief Sarah Cardell said: “Many UK businesses and web developers tell us they feel that they are being held back by restrictions set by Apple and Google.
“When the new Digital Markets regime is in place, it’s likely to address these sorts of issues.
“In the meantime, we are using our existing powers to tackle problems where we can. We plan to investigate whether the concerns we have heard are justified and if so, identify steps to improve competition and innovation in these sectors.”
It’s interesting to note that the investigation is likely only to cover cloud gaming. Apple does not allow third parties to offer cloud gaming through the App Store unless each game has its app for content review on the platform. Library apps are allowed to collate different listings, but each must be submitted – for large gaming companies, that means hundreds of thousands of individual listings.
It’s also thought that “underinvestment in its browser technology” could be causing developers to work around problems, increasing their costs and making their games less competitive.
Brands including DuckDuckGo, Meta, Microsoft, Mozilla, and Vodafone said they supported the news.
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