Webinar

Transform your subscription web funnel: The psychology of why people pay

Save your seat
Industry NewsApps

Tech coalition questions ex-Amazon exec leading UK antitrust body

Published

Mar 17, 2025

TopicApps
Source: Pexels/Pixabay (edited)

TL;DR

  • A coalition of tech companies and industry groups expresses concern over the UK appointing a former Amazon executive as the interim chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
  • The coalition, including Yelp, DuckDuckGo, and Mozilla, fear Doug Gurr's appointment could compromise the CMA's ability to regulate dominant firms like Apple and Google.

Author

Paddle News Desk

A coalition of tech companies and industry groups has raised concerns with the UK government that the appointment of a former senior Amazon executive to head the country's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) could undermine the antitrust regulator's ability to hold Big Tech accountable.

Conflict of interest fears: Signatories to a letter sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves—including Yelp, DuckDuckGo, and Mozilla—say they are worried Doug Gurr's recent appointment as the interim chair of the CMA may compromise the organization’s ability to impartially regulate dominant firms like Apple and Google, particularly in the UK app market.​ Kerr spent almost a decade working for Amazon in the UK and China.

CMA's scrutiny of Big Tech: The CMA has been actively investigating the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google, focusing on their operating systems, app stores, and browsers. The regulator aims to determine whether these companies hold "strategic market status," which could lead to stricter regulations to promote competition and innovation. This scrutiny arises from concerns that the dominance of Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms may hinder fair competition, limiting consumer choice and stifling innovation. ​

Keeping Apple and Google in check: Others to add their names to the letter include industry groups, including Mozilla, the News Media Association, and consumer advocacy organization Which? The CMA's investigations have previously identified issues with Apple's and Google's practices, including:

  • Noting that Apple's requirement for all iOS browsers to use its WebKit engine and the default status of Safari on iPhones could hinder competition.
  • Raising similar concerns Google's Chrome being the default browser on most Android devices, potentially restricting the ability of rival browsers to differentiate themselves, limiting consumer choice and innovation.

"The CMA has shown that Apple and Google were able to earn over £4 billion of profits in 2021 from their UK mobile businesses above what was required to fairly reward investors," the tech companies and industry groups said in the letter.