By Kavit Majithia

Apple successfully appealed a decision by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to launch a probe into the iPhone maker’s mobile browser and cloud gaming services, with a tribunal ruling it had launched the investigation too late.

The CMA stated the country’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled in Apple’s favour regarding the probe, which it announced in November 2022 following the conclusion of a year-long Mobile Ecosystem Market study earlier in the year.

Its research found Apple and Google had an effective duopoly on mobile ecosystems allowing them to exercise a stranglehold over operating systems, app stores and web browsers.

However, Apple appealed earlier this year, arguing the CMA had exceeded the deadline to file a notice on the investigation and it should be subsequently quashed

At the crux of its complaint, Apple claimed the investigation should have been opened in June 2022 when the CMA published its mobile ecosystem report.

The CAT agreed with Apple, stating that the CMA’s decision not to take action at the time may have been in the expectation of receiving further powers, effectively meaning it “erred in law”.

In response, the CMA stated it was disappointed with the judgement, as it was looking to use the investigation to ensure UK consumers get a better choice of internet services and the actual reasons it had given for launching the probe were not challenged by Apple.

It also noted the CAT judgement found material constraints to the CMA’s general ability to refer markets for in-depth investigations, risking its ability to “effectively investigate and intervene in markets where competition is not working well”.