UK Revives Antitrust Probe Into Apple's Browser and Cloud Gaming Restrictions

Apple faces a renewed comprehensive investigation into its dominance in mobile browsers and cloud gaming following a ruling by London's Court of Appeal (via Bloomberg). The court's decision effectively reverses a previous verdict that had halted the probe, reinforcing the authority of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

app store blue banner uk fixed
In November 2022, the CMA launched an investigation into the cloud gaming and mobile browser restrictions put in place by both Apple and Google, suggesting that the two companies were holding back innovation and increasing costs for web developers, cloud gaming service providers, and browser vendors. This decision was initially overturned by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), which agreed with Apple that the CMA took too long to open an investigation.

The Court of Appeal's latest judgment clarified that the CMA acted within its legal bounds, rejecting Apple's argument regarding time limits. The ruling emphasized that such restrictions apply only to consultation processes within a market study and do not limit the CMA's broader investigative powers.

The court highlighted the CMA's role in promoting competition and safeguarding consumer interests, pointing out the potential "serious consequences" of restricting these powers. The CMA's investigation, which remains paused pending Apple's option of a Supreme Court appeal, is set to resume efforts to scrutinize the company's influence in the mobile browser market and its approach to cloud gaming on the App Store.

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Top Rated Comments

Spaceboi Scaphandre Avatar
18 months ago

What is it with all this European insanity against Apple ?
Because unlike us in the United States, Europe actually has proper consumer protection laws.

EDIT: Damn this did numbers lol
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
breather Avatar
18 months ago

What is it with all this European insanity against Apple ? Entrenched interests can't compete fair and square with them, so get their governments to take them down a peg.

I tell you what: Steve would've pulled Apple out of Europe.
Then he would be fired for incompetence. Pulling out of such a lucrative market is stupid.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
18 months ago

I tell you what: Steve would've pulled Apple out of Europe.
Amazing that you know what Steve Jobs would do.



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Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
webkit Avatar
18 months ago

Once Apple is forced to allow native third party browsing engines in iOS, Google’s victory in web engine technology will be nearly complete, as in practice Chromium/Blink and Safari/WebKit are the only ones remaining.

Amazing accomplishment from the regulators ?
The idea here is to allow users decide which browser engine they want to use on iOS instead of being forced to use WebKit. If Apple wants to see broader use of WebKit, perhaps more improvements to Safari and/or broader availability (Android, Windows, etc.) is the answer. Restricting browser engine choice on a major mobile OS is not the answer.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Fan 2008 Avatar
18 months ago
Here we go again…

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Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sophisticatednut Avatar
18 months ago

Once Apple is forced to allow native third party browsing engines in iOS, Google’s victory in web engine technology will be nearly complete, as in practice Chromium/Blink and Safari/WebKit are the only ones remaining.

Amazing accomplishment from the regulators ?
And what’s the issue? It’s kind of apple’s problem if they can’t compete with blink, it’s not the government’s problem that Apple isn’t able to compete with a superior browser according to users. ?‍♂️

If Blink wins then consumers have voted on the best browser.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)