The U.K.’s competition regulator has designated Apple and Google with “strategic market status” in their mobile platforms, giving the regulator new powers to enforce competition in areas like app stores,

Britain’s antitrust watchdog has targeted Google and Apple for their “strategic” roles in mobile ecosystems, opening the door for regulators to impose changes to their business practices to improve competition.

Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google were designated with so called strategic market status in the UK, exposing the US firm’s mobile ecosystems market to deeper scrutiny from the country’s antitrust watchdog.

Britain's competition regulator took aim at Google and Apple and flagged the two business giants under its highest designation as nearly too powerful to control.

Competition and Markets Authority’s classification grants it expanded authority to tackle potential competition issues across the nation’s app and mobile markets.

Britain on Wednesday moved to loosen the grip of Apple and Google in smartphones by designating them as having "strategic market status", giving it the power to demand specific changes to boost competition.

The country’s competition watchdog said Google and Apple’s mobile platforms qualify as companies with so-called strategic market status.

However, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center’s annual report, scammers stole a record $16.6 billion in 2024. More than a quarter million complaints report money lost to a scam, with an average loss of more than $19,000.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said switching from the car’s native interface to CarPlay and back can be “clunky”.