UK Competition Watchdog Investigates Apple, Google’s Mobile Ecosystems

The United Kingdom’s competition regulator started a probe Thursday on the mobile ecosystems of both Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google and Apple (AAPL) to gauge whether the tech firms’ ownership of their apps and services makes their users pick the tech giants’ products over those of rivals.

The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said it was opening probes into both firms to “determine if Apple and Google have strategic market status” in their mobile ecosystems, which include the app stores, operating systems and browsers on these tech firms’ mobile devices.

The watchdog is launching the investigation as part of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which came into force at the start of 2025 and prevents platforms from abusing their market position to limit online competition.

Apple and Google could be made to open access for developers to their apps or make it easier for users to download or pay for in-app content from rivals, the regulator said, if the investigations find that the tech firms are favoring their own products.

The regulator said it expects to make a decision by October 2025 and that this probe is separate to an ongoing investigation into tech firms’ mobile browsers and cloud gaming.

Apple and Alphabet shares were little changed in premarket trading Thursday.