The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into Google’s search services under new digital market rules. The CMA aims to determine if Google’s search and search advertising services should be designated with strategic market status (SMS).

The Competition and Markets Authority — the U.K.’s antitrust watchdog — is wasting no time in lodging its first official investigation of 2025 under its

Under the digital markets competition regime, which came into force on 1 January 2025, the regulator now has the power to designate a company with “strategic market status (SMS)”—which allows the CMA to impose conduct requirements or propose pro-competition interventions.

A British probe into Google has opened by a watchdog agency as its first ivestigation under a new law over Google's search and advertising services on some European consumers.

It will be the first investigation under a new digital markets competition regime that could force the company to change its conduct.

Britain's competition watchdog flexed new digital market powers on Monday for the first time with an investigation into Google's search and search ad businesses. Under beefed-up rules that took effect this month designed to protect consumers and businesses from unfair practices by Big Tech companies,

Google is the first company investigated for potential strategic market status under the new U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

The UK’s competition watchdog has opened an investigation into Google to determine if its position in search services should warrant a special status for the company, which could see it bound by certain conduct rules.

Britain will use new regulatory powers to investigate Google's search services to see how they impact consumers and businesses, including advertisers and rivals, following U.S. calls to break up the tech giant.