ICLE Comments Question UK CMA’s Proposed Strategic Market Status Decisions in Mobile Ecosystems
BRUSSELS (Aug. 21, 2025) — The UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) proposal to designate Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems as holding strategic market status are based on a static and incomplete understanding of competition in digital markets, International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) argue in regulatory comments to the agency.
The comments note that the CMA’s investigations inaccurately portray the dynamic mobile-ecosystem market as a static duopoly. The agency’s heavy focus on user “stickiness” overlooks intense and iterative waves of competition for the market, waged through constant improvements in the factors that matter most to consumers. Indeed, both Apple and Google actively build tools to lower switching costs, a clear sign of competition.
ICLE Director of Competition Policy Dirk Auer notes:
The CMA’s proposed decisions seem to mistake the stable outcomes of intense, dynamic rivalry for a state of limited competition. By focusing on metrics like stable market share, the authority risks overlooking the fierce nonprice competition that defines the sector, such as camera technology, processing power, security features and AI integration. These are not the actions of firms insulated from competitive pressure, but of companies in a constant battle for the future of mobile technology. Overly broad regulatory remedies would not only fail to promote competition but would also erode the very differentiation that gives consumers meaningful choice and fuels the UK’s tech-sector growth.
The comments also challenge the idea of consumer “lock-in,” pointing out that the “low” switching rates observed by the CMA are actually higher than in many industries typically thought of as competitive. Lack of user switching may also be a sign of customer satisfaction with a differentiated product.
The comments are available here. To schedule an interview with Dirk, contact Jim Fellinger at [email protected].
About ICLE
The International Center for Law & Economics is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center working with a roster of more than one-hundred academic affiliates and research centers from around the globe. ICLE scholars promote the use of law and economics methodologies to inform public policy debates.