The UK’s competition regulator is looking into what it views as Apple and Google’s “effective duopoly” in the mobile phone market. This comes as big tech companies face increasing scrutiny from governments across the world.
According to the BBC, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is probing whether the US tech giants have been discouraging competition through their operating systems iOS and Android, respective app stores, and Safari and Chrome web browsers.
“The CMA is concerned this could lead to reduced innovation across the sector and consumers paying higher prices for devices and apps, or for other goods and services due to higher advertising prices,” the government authority said in a statement.
It’s also examining the companies’ market power over app developers, which obviously rely on Apple’s and Google’s app stores to reach consumers. As you might know, Apple itself is being sued by Epic Games for the allegedly anticompetitive nature of its App Store.
Having amassed powerful empires and extraordinary influence over whole industries, big tech companies have seen the admiration they used to command turn to suspicion and even fury.
The European Union’s highest court recently opened the door for more national-level scrutiny of these multinational giants. And in the US, there’s growing talk about breaking up the companies.
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