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UK moves to curb Google’s search dominance under new Big Tech powers

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Britain’s competition regulator has designated Google as having strategic market status in online search — a landmark ruling that gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sweeping new powers to reshape how the tech giant operates in the UK.

The CMA said Google controls over 90% of all UK search traffic, cementing a dominant position in both search and search advertising. The designation, announced Friday, does not imply wrongdoing but allows the regulator to intervene directly to ensure fairer competition and impose fines for non-compliance.

The CMA outlined potential changes earlier this year, including fairer ranking systems, easier switching to alternative search engines, and greater publisher control over how their content is used in AI-generated responses. These measures could particularly affect Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode features, though its Gemini AI assistant remains outside the current scope.

Google’s Senior Director for Competition, Oliver Bethell, argued the proposals “would inhibit UK innovation and growth” at a time of “profound AI-based innovation.” The company recently announced a £5 billion investment in Britain.

The ruling marks the CMA’s first use of its expanded Big Tech authority, introduced to address the dominance of firms like Google, Apple, and Amazon. The regulator’s second probe—into mobile operating systems—could also lead to another designation targeting Android.

The move follows mounting global scrutiny: the EU fined Google $3.45 billion for antitrust violations in ad tech last month, while U.S. regulators are pressing to break up parts of its advertising empire.

Competition lawyer Tom Smith, a former CMA director, said the decision could rebalance the market by “giving website operators more control over how their content is used for AI training,” curbing Google’s advantage in artificial intelligence.

OpenAI warns EU regulators of Big Tech dominance in AI market

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OpenAI has raised competition concerns with European Union regulators, warning that entrenched tech giants such as Google are using their market power to dominate the fast-growing artificial intelligence sector.

The company confirmed Thursday that its arguments to EU officials last month “mirrored its public positions” on the need to ensure fair competition in AI. During a September 24 meeting with EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera, OpenAI said it faced major hurdles competing against vertically integrated platforms that control both infrastructure and distribution, according to meeting notes cited by Bloomberg News.

The firm urged regulators to prevent large companies from “locking in users” through their ecosystems — a reference to concerns that firms like Alphabet and Microsoft could tie AI products to existing search, cloud, and software services.

The European Commission has already been investigating how major technology platforms are extending dominance into AI through intercompany agreements and exclusive data access. Neither the Commission nor Google responded to requests for comment.

OpenAI’s outreach to EU authorities comes as it cements its own global influence. Following a secondary share sale last week, the ChatGPT-maker is now valued at $500 billion, making it the world’s most valuable startup with over 800 million weekly users.

Analysts say the move signals that OpenAI wants to shape the regulatory debate in Europe — not only to challenge rivals like Google and Anthropic, but also to secure its place in a market increasingly defined by antitrust scrutiny and AI sovereignty policies.

Nvidia’s $100B OpenAI deal sparks antitrust scrutiny over AI dominance

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Nvidia’s plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI — while supplying the ChatGPT maker with millions of AI chips — is raising alarms among antitrust experts who warn the partnership could distort competition in a market already dominated by a handful of tech giants.

Nvidia controls more than half of the GPU market, the essential chips powering AI data centers. Experts caution that a financial tie to OpenAI could give Nvidia incentives to favor one customer over rivals through preferential pricing or faster delivery. “They’re financially interested in each other’s success. That creates an incentive for Nvidia to not sell chips to, or not sell chips on the same terms to, other competitors of OpenAI,” said Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a Vanderbilt Law School antitrust professor.

Andre Barlow, an antitrust lawyer, said the deal raises “significant antitrust concerns,” though the Trump administration’s pro-business stance complicates the outlook. President Donald Trump has emphasized both removing regulatory hurdles to accelerate AI growth and using antitrust enforcement to ensure long-term competition.

The scale of the deal highlights how expensive frontier AI has become. “The cost of chips, data centers and power has pushed the industry toward a handful of firms able to finance projects on that scale,” said Sarah Kreps, director of the Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University. Nvidia’s top two customers already account for nearly 40% of its revenue, underscoring its reliance on concentrated buyers.

Under President Biden, regulators had warned Big Tech could use scale to dominate AI. The DOJ and FTC pursued early inquiries into exclusionary conduct around AI resources. The Trump administration has kept many Big Tech cases alive, with DOJ antitrust head Gail Slater saying last week enforcement must focus on preventing bottlenecks: “The competitive dynamics of each layer of the AI stack and how they interrelate… are legitimate areas for antitrust inquiry.”

For now, Nvidia insists its investment won’t alter its sales practices: “We will continue to make every customer a top priority, with or without any equity stake,” a spokesperson said. OpenAI declined to comment.