Overview
Reuters quoted partner Ronan Scanlan in an article titled, "UK Politics Blunts Antitrust Action Against Google," published on June 25, 2025. The article explores the UK Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) proposal to designate Google's search business as having "strategic market status" under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. While the designation would give the CMA new powers to regulate Google's dominance, the article highlights how shifting political priorities may limit the regulator’s ability to act decisively.
Scanlan noted the challenges the agency faces in the current political climate. "The DMCC Act, which was billed as this revolutionary new tool that the CMA could wield, has arrived three years too late and is becoming a bit of an albatross around its neck," he said. "It's up against huge players like Google, Apple, Amazon, with a lot of political connections, and now – in a new political reality – somehow has to try to extricate itself with the minimum amount of damage."
