A U.K. competition authority investigation into Apple and Google’s mobile browsers has concluded that the tech giants’ policies are limiting economic growth and innovation. The investigation found that Apple’s policies, which mandate the use of its WebKit browser engine for other browsers on iOS, limit their ability to differentiate versus Apple’s own Safari browser by offering enhanced features.
The investigation also highlighted issues with Google’s revenue-sharing arrangements with Apple, where Google pays Apple a significant share of search ad revenue earned from traffic on Safari and Chrome on iOS. This arrangement reduces Google’s financial incentives to compete, the report found.
Despite these concerns, the U.K. regulator has decided not to take enforcement action against Apple and Google. Instead, it is recommending that they be subject to special abuse control powers, which would require them to modify their policies to address the competition concerns. The regulator believes that standard market investigation powers are not effective in addressing these issues.
The report’s findings have significant implications for the tech industry, as Apple and Google’s mobile duopoly has long been a topic of concern for regulators around the world. The U.K. regulator is now calling on Apple and Google to modify their policies to address the competition concerns, and to work with regulators to deliver a pro-innovation regulatory regime that enables UK growth.
The final report is available online, and provides detailed analysis and recommendations for addressing the mobile browser competition concerns.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/12/uk-competition-probe-of-mobile-browsers-finds-apple-google-duopoly-is-anti-innovation