UK CMA Designates Google Search as Strategic Market Status: Choice Screens, Fair Ranking, and AI Content Rules
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has designated Google Search with Strategic Market Status (SMS), granting the regulator sweeping powers to reshape how search works in the UK. This is the first time these powers under the UK's new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act have been used against a major tech company.
What SMS Means
Strategic Market Status is reserved for companies with "substantial and entrenched market power." For Google, this means:
- 5-year regulatory oversight: The designation lasts up to five years
- Binding behavioral requirements: Google must comply with CMA-mandated changes
- No voluntary compliance: These are enforceable obligations, not suggestions
Proposed Changes
The CMA has outlined several significant changes to Google Search in the UK:
- Choice screens: Users may be offered the option to select rival search engines
- Fair ranking principles: Companies can challenge how they appear in Google Search results
- Increased data portability: Easier data transfer between search engines
- AI content permission: Google may need publisher consent before using content in AI Overviews
The Publisher Problem
The most impactful change may be the AI content rule. UK publishers have seen their visibility in search results drop by up to 80% compared to 2019, correlating with the rise of AI Overviews. The CMA's intervention could force Google to compensate or at minimum seek permission from publishers before using their content.
Google's Market Position
- 90%+ market share: Google accounts for more than 90% of all general search queries in the UK
- 200,000+ advertisers: Over 200,000 advertisers use Google's services
- Apple also targeted: The CMA has identified Apple as potentially having SMS with its mobile platform
Global Implications
The UK's action adds to growing global antitrust pressure on Google:
- US DOJ antitrust case demanding structural remedies
- EU Digital Markets Act enforcement
- This UK SMS designation creates a third major regulatory front