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Apple Claims UK Antitrust Regulator Had “No Power” To Launch Probe

By  |  March 12, 2023

Apple, a technology powerhouse, sought to tell the London tribunal on Friday that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) lacked the authority to launch an investigation into Apple’s mobile browsers due to an apparent untimeliness in doing so.

The CMA had begun a full inquiry in November of 2020 into cloud gaming and mobile browsers amid worries about rules enforced by both Apple and Google, Reuters reported.Apple filed an appeal in January at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London and argues the investigation is “invalid”.

Its lawyer Timothy Otty said on Friday that the market investigation should by law have been opened last June at the same time as the CMA published a report on mobile ecosystems, which found the two tech giants had an “effective duopoly”.

Related: UK Watchdog Worried About Money Google Is Paying Apple

He added in court filings that Apple has “suffered serious prejudice” as a result of the CMA’s decision, having “had to repeatedly divert management time and technical resources away from its business activities”.