The regulator of the Britain competition said that it can force Google to classify business more fairly in research results and offer alternative services to consumers, marking the first use of expanded powers to supervise the largest technology companies in the world.
The competition and market authority (CMA) is proposing to designate Alphabet-controlled Google With “strategic market status,” he said on Tuesday, giving more power to intervene research services to increase innovation and economic growth.
If confirmed in October, the designation may oblige Google to improve transparency to editors, simplify access to rival search services, including Artificial Intelligence (Ai) assistants and facilitate data portability for competitors.
Google warned that “punitive regulation” could prevent it from bringing new features and services to Britain and described the scope of CMA considerations as “broad and focused”.
“Evidence -based proportional regulation will be essential to prevent the CMA script from becoming an obstacle to growth in the UK,” said Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior competition director.
CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said Google, which represents over 90 % of research consultations in Britain, offered huge benefits, but the regulator found ways to make markets more competitive and innovative.
“These targeted and provided actions would give UK companies and consumers more options and control over how they interact with Google search services – as well as unlocking greater innovation opportunities throughout the UK technology sector and broader economy,” she said.
Millions of British trusted Google as a gateway to the internet and over 200,000 companies depended on Google search advertising to reach their customers, the regulator said.
The CMA, which gained global prominence when Britain left the European Union, intends to use its expanded power to control the power of technology giants like Google, LitterLike this, Goal and Microsoft No investment or growth suffocation.
The directed CMA approach contrasts with the widest application of the EU of digital regulations, as Britain seeks to balance the restriction on the domain of technology giants to promote economic growth after Brexit.
New powers
Cardell said the CMA established a script of change that the company could make before a final decision in October.
Google said on Tuesday that the designation of CMA SMS does not imply anti-confidential behaviors, but has presented clear challenges to critical areas of its business in Britain.
The development and adoption of the Generative AI has the potential to increase the search market that Google dominates. The CMA said Google was already incorporating Generative AI resources – such as general AI views – in its search products and developing its own assistant, Gemini.
Its proposed designation would include AI -based research resources, although not Gemini’s own assistant, adding that this would be kept under revision as the use evolved, the regulator said.
The CMA said it planned additional actions to address more complex issues, from 2026, such as concerns about Google’s treatment of specialized research companies and transparency and control in research advertising.
The regulator’s second investigation under its new powers in mobile operating systems also target Google and Apple. He can see the company receive another designation focused on its Android operating system.
The CMA can impose fines for non -compliance and has direct oversight powers.
Google is subject to increased regulatory scrutiny in the United States and the European Union, search, advertising, IA and digital platform of coverage.
Last year, it was found that he monopolized on -line search and advertisements in two main decisions in the US, and was accused in March by the European Commission for violating the EU’s digital reference rules.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
(This story was not edited by the NDTV team and is automatically generated from a union feed.)