by Anush Ganesh* and Megan Kirkwood** Introduction On 28 January 2026, the CMA published four proposed conduct requirements (CRs) for Google Search in its capacity as the designated strategic market status (SMS) holder under the DMCCA. These CRs address fair ranking, publisher controls, user choice, and data portability. The consultation attracted 60+ published responses from […]
Conference Debrief: Highlights from the Concurrences Innovation Ecosystem Conference
The Concurrences Innovation Ecosystem: Legal and Economic Perspectives Conference was held on 16 March 2026 at Kings College, London. The conference brought together senior competition practitioners, regulators, judges, and academics to discuss pressing issues in UK and EU competition law across panels on merger control reform, digital markets regulation, cartel enforcement, EU-UK cooperation, and class […]
Highlights from The Economist’s Antitrust Summit 2026
The Economist’s Antitrust Summit 2026, held on 26 February 2026 in City Hall, Westminster, brought together a formidable gathering of competition authority heads, senior regulators, practitioners, and industry representatives to take stock of the evolving global competition landscape. Co-chaired by Tamzin Booth, Editorial Director (B2B) at The Economist Group, and Jan Piotrowski, Finance and Economics […]
Investigating the UK’s mobile ecosystems’ commitments
The UK has taken its next steps in enforcing the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA), the relatively new ex ante law brought in to impose rules in the digital sector. The law gives the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) the power to designate dominant firms as having Strategic Market Status (SMS) in […]
Conference Debrief – Highlights from the Competition Law & Artificial Intelligence Summit – 2nd Annual
Event was hosted by Thought Leaders 4 Competition in London The Competition Law & Artificial Intelligence Summit – 2nd Annual, held on 2 December 2025 at Carpenters’ Hall, right in the heart of London, brought together competition authorities, legal practitioners, and industry experts to explore the critical intersection of AI and competition law. With artificial […]
The CMA Designates Google Search with Strategic Market Status: A Comprehensive Analysis
The Competition and Markets Authority issued its first SMS designation under the DMCCA 2024, targeting Google’s general search services. With over 90% market share for at least 15 years and £3-4 billion in supernormal profits from UK services in 2024 alone, Google’s dominance faces its first serious regulatory test. This designation opens the door to […]
Google SMS Designation responses – A comprehensive analysis
by Anush Ganesh 27 Stakeholders Responded to the Google’s proposed SMS designation decision The Competition and Markets Authority’s consultation on designating Google Search with Strategic Market Status has concluded with one of the first stakeholder responses in the UK’s DMCCA chapter. Twenty-seven organizations ranging from Google itself to independent publishers, airlines to academic institutions have […]
SCiDA’s Digital Regulation Review of 2024
2024 is coming to an end and what a year for Shaping Competition in the Digital Age! The DMA picked up steam with record pace, we have a new EU Commissioner for competition and a new law in the UK (DMCCA) – to name only a few developments of a packed year. 2024 has proven […]
The DMCCA is here! Insights from Lord Timothy Clement-Jones
The Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers Act has passed Royal Assent on the 24th of May 2024. It has been a long way here since the revolutionary 2016 Furman Report, and the work for the CMA´s Digital Markets Unit now begins (and they are not sitting still, looking at the draft guidance that was issued […]