The UK's Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) gave the Consumer and Markets Authority (CMA) significant new powers which are already being deployed.
What's the issue?
The DMCCA reforms UK competition law and updates consumer protection law and the CMA has a crucial role to play in both areas. In relation to consumer protection, since 6 April 2025, the CMA has had the power to enforce consumer protection law directly and impose fines of up to 10% of annual global turnover. Previously, it had to apply to the enforce through the courts, slowing enforcement down dramatically.
In addition, as a result of the new competition regime, the CMA can now designate firms as having strategic market status (SMS). The designation does not imply wrongdoing of any kind and does not impose immediate requirements (unlike the EU's similar Digital Markets Act), but it enables the CMA to make individually tailored interventions to promote effective competition and fair treatment of consumers and business users which may include data-sharing requirements, structural remedies, and merger and acquisition notification obligations.
What's the development?
CMA makes first SMS designations
On 10 October 2025, the CMA confirmed its first SMS designation, concluding that Google meets the legal tests for SMS in general search and search advertising services under the UK’s digital markets regime. The CMA found substantial and entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance, noting that more than 90% of UK searches occur on Google. The decision is separate from the CMA’s ongoing SMS investigation into Google’s mobile platform.
The CMA confirmed that Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, is currently out of scope and will be kept under review. Other AI-based search features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, are in scope. Google’s Discover feed, Top Stories and the news tab are in scope, while the Google News app and website are out of scope. Google's syndication services used for single site searching are out of scope.
The CMA expects to consult on possible interventions later in the year.
On 22 October 2025, the CMA confirmed that Apple and Google have SMS in mobile platforms. These platforms cover operating systems, app distribution, browsers and browser engines on smartphones and tablets. The CMA found that both Apple and Google have substantial, entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance in their respective mobile platforms. In particular:
- UK mobile device holders use either Apple or Google's mobile platform and are unlikely to switch between them.
- Mobile platforms are the main way users access content on their device in the form of apps. Businesses must develop and distribute their content through both Apple and Android in order to reach all users.
- There are unlikely to be any technological developments (including in AI) which eliminate Apple or Google's market power over the five-year designation period.
Again, the designation does not entail a finding of wrongdoing and does not introduce immediate requirements. The CMA published Roadmaps (Apple and Google) setting out proposed interventions and conduct requirements in July 2025 for consultation. They focused on interoperability and app distribution. Finalised interventions have not yet been published.
CMA publishes guidance on making competition or consumer law complaints
The CMA published guidance on the new enforcement regime (CMA200) back in March 2025, alongside an approach document setting out its enforcement priorities (see here for more).
On 7 October 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority published guidance on how to report potential breaches of competition or consumer law and what to expect from the CMA. The guidance explains submission routes, the elements of a well-reasoned complaint, what to expect after submitting a complaint and how the CMA will prioritise complaint handling. The guidance does not cover cartels as they have a separate complaints procedure.
The CMA has an online form through which initial complaints about anti-competitive behaviour or potential consumer law breaches can be made. These will require a description of the issue and its impact together with supporting evidence. The CMA will then assess whether further information or evidence should be submitted.
There is no form for the actual complaint which should be as concise and evidence-based as possible. Complainants are encouraged to address the CMA’s prioritisation principles, including strategic significance, expected impact, why the CMA is best placed to act, resource implications and risk.
The CMA will acknowledge all complaints and will contact the complainant within six weeks where there is a realistic prospect of investigation, with periodic updates thereafter. The CMA may decline to prioritise a case or take informal action, including issuing warnings or advisory letters.
The CMA has to comply with strict rules on disclosure of information including under Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002 and data protection law. Identities of complainants are kept confidential where possible.
What does this mean for you?
There is unlikely to be much surprise about the CMA's first SMS designations and more will certainly follow. Of greater interest will be any resulting interventions.
In terms of consumer protection enforcement, in its April 2025 document on its approach to consumer protection, the CMA said it would focus early action on more egregious practices including aggressive sales practices, providing objectively false information to consumers, and banned practices including fake online reviews. It also recognised that because the DMCCA does not apply retrospectively, fines for consumer law breaches would likely be less common in the initial period of the new regime and, as yet, we haven't seen any large fines emerge under the new regime. Businesses should be in no doubt that they are coming though. As the CMA clearly stated in relation to its Ticketmaster investigation (see here), breaches which take place under the new rules, will, where appropriate, result in considerable penalties. As complaints are often the first step in drawing the CMA's attention to consumer or competition issues, the clarification of the procedure signals intent.
