Mobile ecosystems market study
The Competition and Markets Authority has completed its market study into mobile ecosystems.
Administration Timetable
| Date | Action |
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| 10 June 2022 | Case closed |
| 10 June 2022 | Publication of final report and consultation on proposed market investigation reference |
| 7 February 2022 | Deadline for responses to the consultation on the interim report |
| 14 December 2021 | Publication of interim report and decision not to make a market investigation reference |
| 26 July 2021 | Deadline for responses to the invitation to comment on the statement of scope and app developer questionnaire |
| 15 June 2021 | Launch of the market study |
Contacts
Media enquiries
Any media enquiries should be directed to press@cma.gov.uk
Final report
4 August 2022: An updated version of the Accent report was uploaded to correct minor data and labelling errors. Footnote 364 in Chapter 4 of the main report has also been updated to correct for associated errors.
10 June 2022: We have published the final report of our market study into mobile ecosystems. This report sets out our findings, the concerns that we have identified, and our assessment of the range of potential interventions that could address them. The report also sets out the action the CMA will be taking now that study has concluded, including the proposal to make a market investigation reference.
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- Final report (10.6.22)
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- CMA consumer research into purchasing behaviour in the UK smartphone market
- Press release: CMA plans market investigation into mobile browsers and cloud gaming (10.6.22)
Proposal to make a market investigation reference
Alongside our market study final report, the CMA is now also consulting on making a market investigation reference into the supply of mobile browsers and browser engines, and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores on mobile devices.
User survey: closed
We commissioned Accent, an independent research agency in the UK, to conduct a survey among UK smartphone owners to inform this market study. Please note that this survey has now closed.
Responses to Interim report
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Progress update
16 February 2022: The CMA has received a number of responses to our interim report and will be considering these carefully. There have also been 2 important developments relevant to our study; the CMA final decision to accept commitments to address its competition concerns regarding Google’s ‘Privacy Sandbox’ browser changes and Google’s announcement regarding similar proposed Android Privacy Sandbox changes.
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Interim report
14 December 2021: We have published an interim report in connection with our market study into mobile ecosystems. This report sets out our initial findings, the concerns that we have identified, and the range of potential interventions we have identified that could address them. We are inviting comments on our report by 5pm on 7 February 2022.
- Interim report
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- Press release: Apple and Google duopoly limits competition and choice (14.12.21)
Decision not to make a reference
Alongside its interim report, the CMA has also published a notice of its decision not to make a market investigation reference. This decision should not be interpreted as the CMA not having any competition concerns in this sector.
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Responses to Statement of Scope
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Launch of market study
15 June 2021: The CMA has launched a market study into mobile ecosystems in the UK. We are assessing potential sources of harm to consumers within 4 broad themes:
- Theme 1: competition in the supply of mobile devices and operating systems.
- Theme 2: competition in the distribution of mobile apps.
- Theme 3: competition in the supply of mobile browsers and browser engines.
- Theme 4: the role of Apple and Google in competition between app developers.
We invited comments from interested parties on the issues raised in the statement of scope, which have now been published above.
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- Online questionnaire for app developers (15.6.21)
- Press release: CMA to scrutinise Apple and Google mobile ecosystems (15.6.21)
Personal information
The CMA may collect, use and share personal data for its market studies under the Enterprise Act 2002. This includes processing personal data for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
For more information about how the CMA handles personal information, see the CMA’s Personal Information Charter.
Updates to this page
Published 15 June 2021Last updated 10 June 2022 + show all updates
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Final report and Proposal to make a market investigation reference published.
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Update on user survey published.
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Responses to Interim report published.
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Progress update published.
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Additional appendices added for Interim Report.
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Interim report, with associated appendices, published.
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Responses to the statement of scope published.
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First published.