\n<\/p>\n
Google could be forced to make a series of changes to its search business, including giving internet users an option to choose alternative services, after the UK competition watchdog proposed to tighten regulation of the company.<\/p>\n
The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is preparing to designate the world\u2019s largest search engine with \u201cstrategic market status\u201d \u2013 a term that gives the watchdog extra powers to regulate technology companies deemed to have considerable market heft.<\/p>\n
Google, which is owned by the US tech company Alphabet, accounts for more than 90% of search queries in Britain.<\/p>\n
The CMA said it was minded to introduce bespoke regulatory measures for Google, including giving users \u201cchoice screens\u201d to help them switch between search services, ensuring fair ranking of search results, and more control for publishers over how their content is used, including in AI-generated responses.<\/p>\n
If the CMA confirms its decision in October, Google will be the first company designated since the regulator gained new powers this year.<\/p>\n
Sarah Cardell, the CMA chief executive, said the announcement marked an important milestone in a new regulatory regime under the recent Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.<\/p>\n
Cardell said: \u201cThese targeted and proportionate actions would give UK businesses and consumers more choice and control over how they interact with Google\u2019s search services \u2013 as well as unlocking greater opportunities for innovation across the UK tech sector and broader economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The CMA said it planned further action to address more complex issues over a longer period, starting in 2026, such as concerns about Google\u2019s treatment of rival specialised search firms and transparency and control in search advertising.<\/p>\n
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Sign up to Business Today<\/span><\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Google said the move could have significant implications for businesses and consumers in the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re concerned that the scope of the CMA\u2019s considerations remains broad and unfocused, with a range of interventions being considered before any evidence has been provided,\u201d said Oliver Bethell, Google\u2019s senior director for competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Google could be forced to make a series of changes to its search business, including giving internet users an option to choose alternative services, after the UK competition watchdog proposed to tighten regulation of the company. The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is preparing to designate the world\u2019s largest search engine with \u201cstrategic market status\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[270,2017,2016,2018,2020,1167,2019],"class_list":{"0":"post-9606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-change","9":"tag-forced","10":"tag-google","11":"tag-search","12":"tag-steps","13":"tag-takes","14":"tag-watchdog"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}