LONDON (AP) \u2014 Britain\u2019s antitrust watchdog on Friday labeled Google a \u201cstrategic\u201d player in the online search advertising market, paving the way for regulators to force the company to change its business practices to ensure more competition in that market. <\/p>\n
The Competition and Markets Authority said its investigation<\/a> found that the U.S. tech giant has \u201cstrategic market status\u201d because it has \u201csubstantial and entrenched market power\u201d in general search and search advertising. <\/p>\n It marks the first time the watchdog has issued the designation since new U.K. digital rules took effect at the start of the year. <\/p>\n The label doesn\u2019t imply any wrongdoing. But the regulator said it means it has the power to consider using \u201cproportionate, targeted\u201d measures to make sure \u201cgeneral search services are open to effective competition\u201d and that consumers and businesses are treated fairly. <\/p>\n Online search ads appear alongside results from Google\u2019s search engine, usually tagged as \u201cAd\u201d or \u201cSponsored\u201d \u2014 versus online display ads, which appear on a company\u2019s website. The CMA says Google accounts for more than 90% of the U.K.\u2019s online searches and more than 200,000 of the country\u2019s businesses rely on Google search ads to reach customers <\/p>\n Google said it expects to face new rules and regulations on how its search service works.<\/p>\n The CMA didn\u2019t announce any immediate fixes, saying it plans to begin discussions later this year. <\/p>\n