LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s antitrust regulator won an appeal on Thursday against a ruling blocking its investigation into Apple Inc’s mobile browser and cloud gaming services.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a full investigation last year into the dominance of Apple and Alphabet Inc’s Google in mobile browsers, and the possibility of the iPhone maker restricting the cloud gaming market through its app store.
Apple argued that the CMA had “no power” to launch such an inquiry because it did so too late and the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled in Apple’s favour in March, but the Court of Appeal in London overturned that decision on Thursday.
Judge Nicholas Green said in a written ruling that the CAT had “lost sight” of the CMA’s role to “promote competition and protect consumers”.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, welcomed the decision which she said “gives the CMA the backing it needs to protect consumers and promote competition in UK”.
She added that the CMA is ready to reopen the investigation “when the legal process is complete”.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Michael Holden)
