The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the United Kingdom’s competition regulator, has designated Google’s mobile platform for five years, giving the agency scope to consider targeted rules for the app ecosystem.
The designation began Oct. 23, 2025, and is due to end Oct. 22, 2030, unless the CMA revokes or extends it. It applies to a specified activity covering Google’s mobile operating system, native app distribution, mobile browser and browser engine. The decision notice names Android, the Play Store, Google Chrome and Blink within that scope.
The CMA based its decision on findings that Google has substantial, durable market power and strategic significance under the UK regime. It said rival app stores and sideloading provided only limited competitive pressure. The regulator also found that Google’s licensing of mobile services to device makers faced no effective competition.
The designation itself did not rule that Google had breached a rule or impose new obligations immediately. Instead, it allows the CMA to consider interventions through separate processes under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025. The regulator has said possible targeted action could strengthen competition for platform users and businesses, including app developers.
Google opposed the designation. Oliver Bethell, the company’s senior director for competition, called it “disappointing, disproportionate and unwarranted.”
The CMA published Google’s voluntary commitments on app reviews, rankings and data use on April 1, 2026. In a separate process, the regulator consulted on a proposed requirement that would let developers direct users outside apps to complete transactions on fair and reasonable terms.
The CMA published responses to that proposal on Aug. 14, 2026. The CMA’s case page and consultation notice do not specify a date for a final decision.
