The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority has closed its existing Competition Act cases into Google’s (GOOGL) Play Store and Apple’s (AAPL) App Store as it plans for the roll out of the new digital markets competition regime. While the CMA has not taken any decisions on what digital activities or harms it will tackle first, it anticipates that its early work under the new digital markets competition regime will build on and leverage its experience in areas it has already studied, such as mobile ecosystems, which includes app stores. The CMA opened these cases because it is concerned that Google and Apple are using their market positions via the Play Store and App Store respectively to set terms which may be unfair to U.K. app developers and which may restrict competition and consumer choice, potentially leading to higher prices and reduced choice for app users. The move comes at the same time as the CMA rejects commitments submitted by Google in response to the CMA’s concerns. In light of recent developments, in particular the passing in May of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA), the CMA has assessed its existing Competition Act investigation into Google’s Play Store and its parallel case into Apple’s App Store rules against its administrative priorities and decided to close these cases at this point. Should Apple or Google each or both be designated as having ‘strategic market status’ in connection with any digital activities in the mobile sector, the CMA will be able to use its new powers to consider the range of issues raised by parties more holistically than it otherwise could under these specific Competition Act investigations. This will also enable the CMA to consider what, if any, interventions may be needed following any designation.
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