Britain’s competition watchdog announced plans to investigate Apple Inc and Google’s mobile browser market dominance, as well as the iPhone maker’s restrictions on cloud gaming via its app store.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Friday that it would also take action against Alphabet Inc’s Google for its app store payment practises.
It claimed the two tech behemoths had a “effective duopoly” on mobile ecosystems, giving them a stranglehold on operating systems and app stores.
“When it comes to how people use mobile phones, Apple and Google hold all the cards,” CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli said following the publication of a report on mobile ecosytems.
“As good as many of their services and products are, their strong grip on mobile ecosystems allows them to shut out competitors, holding back the British tech sector and limiting choice.”
According to the report, 97 percent of all mobile web browsing in the United Kingdom last year was powered by either Apple’s or Google’s browser engine, and Apple has also banned alternatives to its own browser on iPhone.
The CMA expressed concern that this severely limited rival browsers’ ability to differentiate themselves from Apple’s Safari, for example, on features such as speed and functionality