Tag: CMA

Fashionably late:  The UK digital markets legislation starts its passage through Parliament

More than four years after the Furman Report, the British Government has laid its Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill before Parliament.  However, what is perhaps more remarkable than the delays is how closely the Bill sticks to the CMA’s original recommendations. One can always quibble over some of the drafting, but overall this is … Continue reading Fashionably late:  The UK digital markets legislation starts its passage through Parliament →

Into Uncharted Waters – Making sense of the CAT’s Apple/CMA judgment

In November last year, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) started a market investigation into the supply of web browsers and browser engines on mobile devices, and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices. However, Apple appealed the CMA’s decision to make a market investigation reference (MIR) in the … Continue reading Into Uncharted Waters – Making sense of the CAT’s Apple/CMA judgment →

The CMA’s investigation of competition restrictions regarding browsers

On 22 November 2022, the CMA launched a market investigation into cloud gaming and mobile browsers. In this post, I focus on this investigation as it relates to mobile browsers. This blog has already discussed cloud gaming in an earlier post, and we will return to the topic in the future. CMA market investigations must … Continue reading The CMA’s investigation of competition restrictions regarding browsers →

Full steam ahead for the UK Digital Markets Unit

UK politics has been in a parlous state. Today the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer attempted to stabilize the country’s finances by announcing some eye-watering tax rises and spending cuts in the Autumn Statement. However, of more relevance to readers of this blog, he also made a significant announcement about the legislation required to implement … Continue reading Full steam ahead for the UK Digital Markets Unit →

Amazon/iRobot: The flywheel spins once more

It was reported last week that the US Federal Trade Commission has started investigating Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba smart vacuum cleaners. It seems to us that the UK and EU authorities will also have jurisdiction to investigate. Why should anyone (apart from iRobot’s shareholders) care about a large retailer … Continue reading Amazon/iRobot: The flywheel spins once more →

CMA music streaming market study: what’s going on?

Music streaming is a fascinating industry, and many people were looking forward to seeing how the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) had used its wide-reaching information gathering powers to uncover any problems. This is a huge and culturally-important industry for the UK, and it seems to operate in some weird and convoluted ways. There … Continue reading CMA music streaming market study: what’s going on? →

Meta/Giphy court judgment: The CMA’s controversial merger analysis survives, but its procedures don’t

As readers of this blog know, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) blocked its first Big Tech merger in the Meta/Giphy case. Meta duly appealed to the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) and the CAT’s judgment was issued last week. The most discussed element of the case has been the CMA’s controversial theories of … Continue reading Meta/Giphy court judgment: The CMA’s controversial merger analysis survives, but its procedures don’t →

The CMA Final Report on the Mobile Ecosystems market study: a repudiation of Apple’s narrative over privacy and safety as justifications for the status quo

On 10 June 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its Final Report on its year-long market study into mobile ecosystems – namely mobile operating systems, app stores, and web browsers. The CMA found that Apple and Google have a tight grip over these increasingly crucial ecosystems, which in turn places them in … Continue reading The CMA Final Report on the Mobile Ecosystems market study: a repudiation of Apple’s narrative over privacy and safety as justifications for the status quo →

The CMA takes matters into its own hands with browsers and cloud gaming market investigation references

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published its report into mobile ecosystems a few days before its statutory deadline. This market study has focused on mobile browsers, mobile operating systems and app stores. Following the UK Government’s disappointing decision to delay the necessary legislation that will give the Digital Markets Unit (“DMU”) its … Continue reading The CMA takes matters into its own hands with browsers and cloud gaming market investigation references →