Google faces sweeping new regulations in the United Kingdom after the Competition and Markets Authority designated the tech giant with “strategic market status” for its search and search advertising services. The landmark decision, announced October 10, 2025, gives regulators unprecedented power to reshape how Google operates in one of its most profitable markets. The CMA found Google holds “substantial and entrenched market power” with over 90% of UK searches occurring on its platform.
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What Strategic Market Status Means for Google
The strategic market status designation under the UK’s new digital markets competition regime represents the most significant regulatory challenge Google has faced in Britain. Unlike previous antitrust actions, this status empowers the CMA to proactively intervene in Google’s business practices before any wrongdoing occurs. The regulator can now impose conduct requirements specifically tailored to ensure “effective competition” in search services and fair treatment for businesses dependent on Google’s platform.
This designation covers Google’s core search business along with emerging AI features like AI Overviews and AI Mode, though notably excludes the Gemini AI assistant for now. The CMA launched its investigation into Google’s search dominance on January 14, 2025, shortly after the digital markets competition regime took effect on New Year’s Day. Google now anticipates facing specific rules governing how Search operates in the UK market, potentially affecting everything from default search settings to advertising auctions.
Google’s Dominant Market Position
Google’s overwhelming market share formed the foundation of the CMA’s decision. “We have found that Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector – with more than 90% of searches in the UK taking place on its platform,” stated Will Hayter, Executive Director for Digital Markets at the CMA. This dominance extends to search advertising, where Google captures the lion’s share of the £9.3 billion UK search advertising market.
The regulator’s investigation revealed that Google’s market power is both “substantial and entrenched,” meaning competitors face nearly insurmountable barriers to challenging its position. This includes network effects that reinforce Google’s dominance: more users generate more data, which improves search quality, attracting even more users. The CMA’s previous market studies had already identified concerns about default search engine arrangements and the self-preferencing of Google’s own services in search results.
Potential Interventions and Industry Impact
The CMA expects to begin consulting on specific interventions later this year, with several options under consideration. These could include requiring Google to provide more choice screens for search engines, mandating data access for competitors, or imposing stricter rules on how Google ranks its own services versus competitors. The regulator might also address concerns about Google’s control over the search advertising ecosystem, potentially requiring more transparency in auction mechanisms.
Similar measures in the European Union under the Digital Markets Act have already forced Google to make significant changes to its operations. The UK regime, however, allows for more targeted interventions specific to the British market. The CMA has emphasized that its approach will be “pro-competitive and pro-innovation,” focusing on enabling new entrants while protecting consumers and businesses from potential harm.
Google’s Response and Broader Implications
Google has pushed back strongly against the designation and potential interventions. In its official response, the company argued that “many of the ideas for interventions that have been raised in this process would inhibit UK innovation and growth, potentially slowing product launches at a time of profound AI-based innovation.” Google specifically warned that some proposals could “pose direct harm to businesses” and lead to higher consumer prices.
The tech giant pointed to the European Union’s experience, claiming similar regulations have “cost businesses an estimated €114 billion.” Google emphasized that the UK has historically benefited from early access to new products because it avoided “costly restrictions on popular services, such as Search.” The company’s stance reflects broader industry concerns about fragmented digital regulations across different jurisdictions creating compliance headaches for global technology companies.
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