The U.K.’s antitrust authority said it has proposed to designate Google as having strategic market status in general search and search advertising, paving the way for measures that could change how the U.S. tech company operates.
The move comes under the umbrella of a new U.K. law governing the digital economy. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act gives antitrust officials new powers to rein in Big Tech companies. Alphabet-owned Google became the first company probed under the law in January, shortly after the rules came into force at the beginning of the year.