UK's CMA Probes Google's 90% Search Dominance, Affects 200,000 Advertisers, Deadline October 2025

Jan 14, 2025, 11:23 AM

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into Google's dominance in the search and search advertising markets, marking the first probe under new digital market rules that came into effect in January 2025. The CMA is assessing whether Google should be designated with 'strategic market status' (SMS), which could lead to regulatory interventions to ensure fair competition. The investigation will look into Google's impact on consumers, businesses, advertisers, news publishers, and rival search engines. Google accounts for over 90% of all general search queries in the UK, and more than 200,000 UK businesses use its search advertising services. The CMA aims to complete its investigation by October 2025.