The UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is carving out its own unique identity on the world stage, and its action against Google highlights how its approach differs from its global peers like the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the European Commission.
While the goal—tackling Google’s dominance—is the same, the tools and philosophy are distinct. The CMA is now operating under a new, bespoke “pro-competition” regime (the DMCC Act) that is ex-ante, meaning it sets rules for the future. This contrasts with the traditional ex-post approach often used elsewhere, which involves long court battles to prove past wrongdoing. The CMA’s “strategic market status” designation is a tool for ongoing management, not just punishment.
This approach is arguably more agile. Instead of spending years in litigation over a single issue, the CMA can designate a firm and then impose a suite of “conduct requirements” to address multiple problems at once, from choice screens to publisher rights. This allows it to adapt more quickly to the fast-changing pace of digital markets.
However, it is also a less adversarial process, at least initially. The emphasis is on consultation and designing remedies, rather than on finding guilt and imposing fines (though the threat of massive fines for non-compliance remains). This makes it a uniquely British blend of firm regulation and stakeholder engagement.
As the UK forges its independent post-Brexit path, the CMA is emerging as a pragmatic and powerful regulator. It is learning from the experiences of the EU and US, but it is applying those lessons through a new, more flexible, and forward-looking legal framework.