The United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has designated Google as having "strategic market status" for the online search and advertising market, opening the way for stricter rules to be applied to the company, according to Techcrunch.com.
This status indicates Google's "dominant and long-term" market position and allows for the introduction of special intervention measures to increase competition.
This designation is not an accusation against Google; rather, it will serve as the basis for actions to be taken in the near future.
Covered services: search, search ads, AI Overviews, AI Mode, the “Discover” feed, “Top Stories” and News tabs. However, the Google News app and website, as well as synchronized search services, are excluded.
In its response, Google noted that some interventions could slow down innovative processes and make it more difficult to launch new products.
Planned possible measures:
- the ability for users to switch to another search engine via a choice screen
- ensuring fairness in search results
- enabling publishers to control use of their content
- introducing consent mechanisms for AI services
