The United Kingdom can force Google to offer users alternative research options and to classify its “more equitably” results

The UK’s competition regulator said On Tuesday, he is considering a new market designation for Google which would oblige the research giant to provide alternative search options to users, classify “more equitably” search results and offer better control to publishers on how their content is used in AI research and overviews.

As part of the new digital market competition regime which came into force earlier this year, competition and the UK markets (CMA) said it launched a consultation on the opportunity to designate Google with the “Strategic Market status”.

By virtue of this designation, which, according to the CMA, applies to companies with a “sufficiently powerful position” on their market, Google would be obliged to join a series of measures, including screens of choice to allow users to decide and switch between research services (potentially including AI AIA); Fair classification principles for research results; Better controls for publishers in the way their contents – collected for research – is used in Google AI services (including IA previews and Gemini AI assistant); And guarantee that people can transfer their data, as their research history.

In a blog Regarding the proposed consultation and appointment, the CMA director general, Sarah Cardell, noted that British companies spent more than £ 33,000 by advertiser on Google search announcements last year.

“Google Search represents more than 90% of all general research requests in the United Kingdom, with millions of people who count on it as a key gateway to the Internet (…) If the competition worked well, we would expect these costs to be lower,” wrote Cardell.

“These targeted and proportionate actions would give companies and consumers of the United Kingdom more choice and control over how they interact with Google’s research services – as well as to unlock greater innovation opportunities in the British technological sector and the wider economy,” said Cardell in a separate press release.

The CMA is currently collecting opinions on this designation and proposed measures of industry stakeholders and will make a decision on the designation by October 13.

Google did not immediately return a comment request.