Tag: CMA

Back in the game: Court of Appeal sides with CMA against Apple in mobile browsers and cloud gaming market investigation

Yesterday, the CMA successfully overturned the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) ruling that the CMA’s market investigation reference (MIR) into mobile browsers and cloud gaming was out of time and therefore unlawful. This opens the door to the CMA reopening the MIR which could lead to significant remedies being imposed against Apple. Background The CMA’s MIR … Continue reading Back in the game: Court of Appeal sides with CMA against Apple in mobile browsers and cloud gaming market investigation →

UK digital markets regime under attack, but still on course

man driving vehicle near tree

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill is now in the Report Stage in Parliament before it heads to the second chamber, the House of Lords.  Trawling through the 87 pages of proposed amendments this week, I was tempted to reach for a hackneyed Winston Churchill quote: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and … Continue reading UK digital markets regime under attack, but still on course →

Platform divergence and geographic divergence after Microsoft/Activision and Apple v CMA

In January 2022, we first reported on the CMA’s concerns that Apple had been blocking cloud gaming apps on the App Store (Google does allow those apps on Play Store but does not allow in-app purchases to be completed within cloud gaming apps). The CMA referred this issue to a full market investigation on 22 … Continue reading Platform divergence and geographic divergence after Microsoft/Activision and Apple v CMA →

In defence of judicial review: The established UK appeal standard is the best approach for a dynamic digital economy

As readers of this blog will know, the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers ("DMCC") Bill seeks to create a brand-new ex ante regulatory framework for firms with ‘strategic market status’ ("SMS"), defined as firms that hold substantial and entrenched market power in a digital activity, that provides them with a position of strategic significance. … Continue reading In defence of judicial review: The established UK appeal standard is the best approach for a dynamic digital economy →

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? →