Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems investigated by competition watchdog - The Competition and Markets Authority will investigate the firms under new digital market laws.

Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. were hit with UK antitrust investigations over concerns their dominance in mobile services is distorting the market and putting up barriers to entry for competitors.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an in-depth investigation into the dominance of Apple and Google in the mobile ecosystem.

The Competition and Markets Authority announced that it is commencing an initial strategic market status investigation pursuant to section 9(1)

The U.K.'s CMA is launching so-called "strategic market status" (SMS) investigations into the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google.

It is not only in the European Union that competition authorities are taking a closer look at Apple and Google. The UK has now also launched an investigation.

The UK’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Apple's and Google’s mobile platforms, just days after the government forced out its chair as part of a push to cut the regulatory burden on business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS The U.K.’s competition regulator started a probe Thursday on the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Alphabet's Google.The probe is gauging whether the tech firms’ ownership of their apps and services makes their users pick their products over those of rivals.

Google has vowed to intensify its measures against fake online reviews after a UK regulatory investigation, promising tougher actions against both rogue reviewers and complicit businesses. The tech giant plans to identify and remove false reviews swiftly while enabling consumers to report suspicious content easily.

Businesses which boost their star ratings will have warnings attached to them - fake reviewers will be banned.

Apple and Google could end up having to make apps and app content “easier” to obtain from elsewhere, and offer fairer terms to app developers hosting their content on its official stores.