"Alphabet Inc.'s Google became the first company to be designated with so called strategic market status in the UK, exposing the US firm's online search and advertising business to a closer scrutiny by the country's antitrust watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority said Google's entrenched market power merits the designation aimed at ensuring competition in digital markets. The watchdog raised concerns over fairness in Google search results, high advertising costs and artificial intelligence-generated search responses."
"We have found that Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector with more than 90% of searches in the UK taking place on its platform, Will Hayter, executive director for digital markets at the CMA, said in a statement on Friday. The investigation doesn't cover Google's Gemini AI assistant but this position will be kept under review given uncertainty over how the market is developing, the CMA said."
Google has been designated with strategic market status in the UK, placing its search and search-advertising operations under closer CMA scrutiny due to entrenched market power. The CMA cited concerns about fairness of search results, high advertising costs and AI-generated search responses, and found Google handles more than 90% of UK searches. The investigation currently excludes Google's Gemini AI assistant but will monitor market developments. The designation follows EU penalties including a near $3.5 billion fine and an order to stop favoring its own ad technology. The status enables potential enforcement actions and penalties under new UK digital markets rules.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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