By Edith Hancock
The U.K.'s antitrust regulator is seeking feedback on commitments Apple and Alphabet's Google made in their effort to bring their mobile ecosystems in line with the country's digital competition rules.
The Competition and Markets Authority said on Tuesday that the companies offered to ensure they review apps attempting to set up shop on their app stores in a fair, objective and transparent way without discriminating against rivals to their own services. It also said the groups pledged to rank apps in their stores fairly and not unfairly use data they collect on developers during app reviews.
The move is the next step the U.K. regulator is taking to enforce the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, which gives it the power to set specific rules for services offered in the U.K. by the world's largest technology companies such as search engines and app stores. Apple and Google offered voluntary commitments as opposed to the CMA imposing its own conduct requirements on the companies.
"The ability to secure immediate commitments from Apple and Google reflects the unique flexibility of the U.K. digital markets competition regime and offers a practical route to swiftly address the concerns we've identified," Sarah Cardell, the regulator's chief executive, said.
The CMA designated both Apple and Google as companies whose platforms would need to come under the scope of the law due to their dominance in mobile ecosystems in 2025.
"While we believe Play's existing developer practices are fair, objective, and transparent, we welcome the opportunity to resolve the CMA's concerns collaboratively," a Google spokesperson said of its app store.
An Apple spokesperson said the iPhone maker faces fierce competition in every market in which it operates. "The commitments announced today allow Apple to continue advancing important privacy and security innovations for users and great opportunities for developers," the company said.
The regulator set a March 3 deadline to receive feedback before commitments would take effect from April 1.
Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-10-26 1112ET
