Britain on Friday designated Google with "strategic market status" in online search, the first time it has deployed new powers to tackle the dominance of big tech and paving the way for interventions it deems necessary.
The Competition and Markets Authority's move enables it to compel the Alphabet-owned company to change the way it operates in Britain in the search market.
"We have found that Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector – with more than 90% of searches in the UK taking place on its platform," the CMA's Executive Director for Digital Markets Will Hayter said in a statement.
The watchdog said the designation was not a finding of wrongdoing and that it did not introduce any immediate requirements.
Google's Senior Director for Competition, Oliver Bethell, said:
"Many of the ideas for interventions that have been raised in this process would inhibit UK innovation and growth, potentially slowing product launches at a time of profound AI-based innovation."
The CMA, which can impose fines for non-compliance and has direct enforcement powers, said in June its actions would be "targeted and proportionate", and would unlock innovation in the British tech sector and broader economy.
The proposed steps from the CMA in June included fairer ranking in search and offering consumers more access to alternative search engines.
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