Apple, Google to face UK probe over mobile browser dominance

Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. are set to face a formal investigation over their dominance of web browsers on cell phones, the UK’s antitrust regulator said in a provisional decision aimed at curbing the tech giants’ stranglehold on mobile operating systems.

The mobile browser markets are not working well for businesses and millions of phone users in the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority said in a provisional finding. The agency recommended investigating Apple and Google’s activities in mobile ecosystems under tougher digital markets competition rules, which will come into force next year.

Most concerns relate to Apple’s mobile browser while a revenue-sharing agreement between Google and Apple significantly reduces financial incentives to compete in mobile browsers on the Apple devices, the CMA said on Friday.