The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has taken a major step toward designating Google as a Strategic Market Status (SMS) firm under the newly enacted Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act (DMCCA). This legislation, which came into force on January 1, 2025, empowers the CMA to impose legally binding rules on digital giants whose dominance could hinder fair competition.
In a June 24 announcement, the CMA provisionally found that Google’s general search and search advertising activities meet the legal threshold for SMS designation. This would subject Google to a tailored regulatory framework designed to correct market imbalances and promote consumer and publisher choice. The designation includes services such as Google Search, Google Ads, SA360, and AdSense for Search, but excludes the Gemini AI assistant for now.
CMA Focuses on Two Major Investigations in 2025
Initially planning three SMS investigations this year, the CMA announced it would instead prioritize two ongoing probes—one targeting Google’s core search and ad business, and the second examining the mobile ecosystems of both Google and Apple. No new SMS investigations will be initiated in 2025.
The CMA’s proposal is currently open for feedback and aims to implement several early-stage interventions if Google is officially designated in October.
Proposed Early Conduct Requirements
Among the CMA’s most immediate remedies are:
• Mandatory choice screens for search engines on browsers like Chrome and Android devices, similar to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
• Fair and non-discriminatory search result rankings, addressing concerns over Google’s opaque and potentially biased algorithmic changes.
• Enhanced data portability, allowing users to move their personal data more freely across services.
• A complaint process for businesses affected by Google’s search presentation or ad policies.
Empowering Publishers in the Age of AI
A key and potentially transformative proposal would give publishers more control over how their content is collected and reused, particularly for AI-generated search responses. The CMA argues that publishers should not be automatically opted into data scraping for services like Gemini AI or AI Overviews. This measure would allow content owners to opt in or out of having their data used for AI training and response generation.
This is in response to longstanding concerns that current tools like robots.txt are ineffective at preventing data scraping, and that tech giants routinely ignore publisher preferences.
Long-Term Measures Under Review for 2026
The CMA outlined Category 2 interventions to be developed further in 2026, which could include:
• Rules against self-preferencing in AI search results
• Increased transparency in Google’s ad auction process
• Greater control for advertisers over ad placements and pricing
• Measures to protect consumer choice and content ownership in AI systems
However, these more robust interventions could be influenced by the UK government’s pending decisions on copyright and AI regulation, which remain politically sensitive and unresolved.
Waiting on U.S. Outcomes Before Pursuing Bigger Moves
The CMA also acknowledged it is monitoring the outcome of the U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Google, expected in August. Some of the more forceful remedies—such as requiring Google to share clickstream or search index data—may hinge on international legal precedents rather than UK-led action.
Final Decision Expected in October
The final SMS designation and accompanying conduct requirements are due in October 2025, following consultations with Google and third-party stakeholders. If approved, this would mark the UK’s first major move to rein in a Big Tech platform under its bespoke digital competition law.
The CMA’s direction suggests a preference for gradual, enforceable changes over sweeping reforms, though the data control measures for publishers could represent a significant power shift—if not diluted during negotiations with Google.
