UK anti-trust regulator to launch two probes under new digital markets powers

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's anti-trust regulator said it would begin two investigations this month using its new powers over the biggest tech firms, which are aimed at stimulating investment, innovation and growth.

The CMA will designate firms as having "Strategic Market Status" (SMS) in relation to a particular digital activity before they can be investigated. The bar for SMS status is high, with only the largest, most influential tech firms affected.

The CMA said in November it believed Apple could be holding back innovation in smartphone browsers, and said it could investigate Apple's and Google's duopoly in mobile ecosystems following the launch of its new powers, which came into force this month.

It said on Tuesday it expected to start investigations in two areas of digital activity this month, on which it will provide details in due course, and after about six months, it would launch an investigation into a third area.

Each investigation will be completed in a statutory time limit of nine months, the CMA added.

Amongst the regime's considerations would likely be ensuring large players do not shut out smaller competitors by preferencing their own services; making it easier for people to switch digital providers without losing data and driving growth by enabling more effective competition.

The CMA, which has played a bigger role in merger control since Britain left the European Union, was told by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in October to take growth more seriously.

It said that the new regime would seek to maximise the attractiveness of Britain to tech companies while also ensuring choice and competitive prices.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle, editing by Sarah Young)