Google faces more scrutiny as UK regulators wield new digital competition powers
london – Britain's competition watchdog on Monday unveiled new digital market powers for the first time, launching an investigation into Google's search and search advertising business.
Under toughened rules that come into force this month aimed at protecting consumers and businesses from unfair practices by big tech companies, the Competition and Markets Authority said it would decide whether Google should be given a “strategic market status” that would require the company to behavior. The investigation adds to the global scrutiny the U.S. tech giant faces.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it would investigate whether Google used its market position to stifle innovation and block rivals. The regulator said it would pay particular attention to Google's role in shaping the development of new human services and interfaces such as Answer Engine to “limit the competitive restrictions they impose on Google searches”.
Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots are increasingly popular among internet users looking for information online. Google restructured its search engine last year, and it now often favors responses produced by artificial intelligence over website links.
Google said in a statement that it “will continue to engage constructively with the CMA to ensure the new rules benefit all types of websites and still allow British people to benefit from useful and advanced services.”
Sarah Caddell, chief executive of the UK regulator, said artificial intelligence has the potential to transform online search services, meaning fair competition is important.
“Our job is to ensure that people fully benefit from choice and innovation in search services and receive a fair deal, for example in how their data is collected and stored,” Caddell said in a statement. “For businesses, whether you Whether it's a competing search engine, advertiser or news organization, we want to ensure a level playing field for all businesses, large and small, to succeed.”
The CMA will also investigate concerns about Google's “exploitative behaviour”, including the practice of collecting large amounts of consumer data without informed consent, and the use of content by website publishers – which range from major media to startups that focus on a narrow niche. Subject – not paying them fairly.
It will also investigate whether Google prioritizes its own services, such as dedicated search shopping or travel services.
The U.K. investigation is the latest step in the regulatory pressure Google faces on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the United States and Canada, authorities are pursuing lawsuits against Google over its advertising business, accusing the company of anticompetitive or monopolistic conduct in the digital advertising industry, an issue they hope to address by breaking up the company.
Meanwhile, EU regulators have been conducting their own antitrust investigations and have said they will push Google to sell parts of its business to satisfy concerns about its lucrative digital advertising business.
The CMA has until October to complete its investigation and said it could force Google to change its data practices, among other things.
The regulator said it expected to launch three to four “strategic market position” investigations into the largest technology companies in the first year after the new powers take effect.
Shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc. were essentially flat before the market opened on Tuesday.