Google could face changes to search in the UK as regulators crack down

• Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said it's consulting on a proposal to give Google “strategic market status.”
• The status is a designation under the U.K.'s new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act for tech firms that hold entrenched market power.
• The CMA laid out changes for Google if its strategic market status designation is successful, including choice screens and non-discriminatory search rankings.

Google could face changes to its online search services in the U.K. after regulators raised concerns over the tech giant's dominance.

The Competition and Markets Authority on Tuesday said it is consulting on a proposal to give Google “strategic market status,” a designation under new competition rules for tech firms that hold entrenched power in a certain market.

The watchdog was granted expanded competition and merger control powers this year as the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act came into force.

Similar to a European Union law known as the Digital Markets Act, the legislation gives the CMA the ability to directly enforce consumer protections on tech giants and take action — including fines of up to 10% of global annual revenues for breaches.

The CMA laid out a roadmap of measures for Google if its strategic market status designation is successful, including:

• Choice screens to help people easily select and switch between search services
• Fair and non-discriminatory search rankings
• Control over how publishers' content is used — including for artificial intelligence-generated responses
• Portability of consumer search data to support product innovation

In response to the CMA's decision, Google on Tuesday said the outcome of such changes “could have significant implications for businesses and consumers” in the U.K.

“The CMA has today reiterated that 'strategic market status' does not imply that anti-competitive behaviour has taken place — yet this announcement presents clear challenges to critical areas of our business in the UK,” Oliver Bethell, Google's senior director for competition, said in a statement.

“We're concerned that the scope of the CMA's considerations remains broad and unfocused, with a range of interventions being considered before any evidence has been provided.”

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Bethell added that Google plans to “continue working constructively with the CMA” to avoid such measures from being imposed.

It comes as regulators around the world have increasingly been looking to rein in Big Tech players over their significant market power.

In April, a U.S. judge ruled that Google holds illegal monopolies in two markets for online advertising technology, paving the way for antitrust prosecutors to seek a breakup of its ad products.

Meanwhile, an advisor to the European Union's top court last week recommended it dismiss Google's appeal against a record 4.1-billion-euro ($4.8 billion) antitrust fine.