In the fall, the UK is expected to enact the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Ahead of this, the UK competition regulator announced the conclusion of investigations into the App Store and Google Play.
In an official statement, the country's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) noted that once the law is enacted, it will be able to reinitiate both investigations. Furthermore, the agency will have more powers at its disposal.
The CMA began an antitrust investigation into the App Store in 2021, and a year later, it launched an investigation into Google Play. The agency sought to determine whether Apple and Google were abusing their market positions in mobile stores and imposing unfair conditions on app developers. Specifically, the CMA questioned the justification for prohibiting developers from using third-party payment systems.
The UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill is largely similar to the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Previously, in compliance with the latter, Apple was forced to allow residents of EU countries to install alternative app stores on their iOS devices.