Apple and Google Browser -Dominance harm the choice of consumers, says Watchdog

The Duopol, the Apple and Google keeps on mobile phone browsers, causes British consumers to lose innovations, so that the supervisory authorities said.

The competition and market authority (CMA) said that Apple hold competitors such as Mozilla and Firefox because they offer new functions because the restrictions are installed in its platform.

Apple said it “concerns” with the report published by the watchdog.

Apple leads the Safari browser, but also leads the operating system that competing browsers have to use if they want to work on iPhones.

This forces other Apple’s underlying browser engine, which is referred to as a web kit, partially to reduce cyber security problems.

However, it also limits the extent to which competing browsers can offer functions that you differentiate from Apple’s own safari offer, which hinders the competition, said the CMA.

The watchdog said that Apple Safari also had a full -screen video implemented for almost four years before granting other browsers access to the necessary functions.

Apple and Google dominate the market for mobile devices, whereby the CMA determines that practically all devices sold in Great Britain are preinstalled with the iOS of Apple or the Android operating systems from Google.

Compared to the products and services of third -party products, the company’s own app stores and browsers have exclusive or leading positions on their platforms.

A Apple spokesman said that the company “had concerns about this report and the view that the appeals he discussed would undermine privacy, security and general user experience”.

“We are in every segment and jurisdiction in which we work, and our focus is always the trust of our users,” it said that consumers can choose from a variety of browsers in the app store and change their standard browser in the setting app.

Apple said it would “continue to take part in the CMA constructively in order to clear up their concerns”.

The CMA has examined the mobile browser offers of the two companies through an independent examination group.

In addition, the wax dog added that the financial incentives also reduce the financial incentives to compete in order to compete.

Google pays Apple a significant share of search advertising that was achieved from traffic on Safari and Chrome on its iOS.8 operating system, said the CMA.

After a competitive regime for digital markets came into force in Great Britain at the beginning of this year and enables the British authorities to give new powers to issue “behavioral requirements” to technology companies, which the strategic market status is granted.

With the status, companies defined can give you requirements that will be imposed on you that strengthen the competition for British companies and the selection of consumers.

The CMA examines separately whether the US giants should receive this status.

If this is the case, you could be asked to open the access to functions within operating systems or app stores for third-party apps.

Margot Daly, chairman of the independent investigation group of the CMA, said: “After our detailed investigation, we came to the conclusion that the competition between different mobile browsers does not work well, and this is holding innovations in Great Britain.”