UK CMA Secures Fairness and Interoperability Commitments from Apple and Google

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured a package of commitments from Apple and Google aimed at delivering immediate improvements in fairness, transparency, and predictability for thousands of businesses that rely on mobile app ecosystems to serve their customers. These commitments, announced under the UK’s digital markets competition regime, are designed to support developers and stimulate innovation in the UK’s substantial app economy.

Background: Strategic Market Status Spurs Action

Apple’s and Google’s mobile platforms were designated as having strategic market status by the CMA in October 2025, reflecting their dominant positions in mobile ecosystems where roughly 90–100% of UK mobile devices run on either iOS or Android. This status gives the CMA enhanced powers to seek changes that ensure fairer outcomes for developers and consumers in key digital markets.

Rather than imposing formal regulatory conduct requirements immediately, the CMA has worked collaboratively with both companies to secure voluntary commitments that aim to bring immediate benefits while broader regulatory work continues.

What Apple and Google Have Agreed

The commitments Apple and Google have offered cover several priority areas affecting app store processes, interoperability, and developer confidence:

Fair and Transparent App Review: Both Apple and Google will review apps for listing in their stores in a manner that is fair, objective, and transparent, and they will avoid discrimination against apps that compete with their own offerings.
App Ranking Practices: App ranking algorithms and placement practices will be conducted without preference for in-house apps, providing clearer rules and expectations for developers.
Data Safeguards: Both companies have committed to protect data they collect from developers during app reviews and not to use it unfairly to inform their own product development or advantage.
Enhanced iOS Interoperability: Apple has pledged to improve how developers can request interoperable access to features and functionality within iOS and iPadOS, giving businesses greater certainty about integrating critical capabilities in their apps.

These changes are intended to improve how developers engage with the App Store and Google Play Store, reducing procedural opacity and making processes more predictable.

Monitoring and Accountability

To ensure the commitments are more than just formal promises, the CMA will closely monitor compliance and require Apple and Google to provide detailed data. Metrics to be reported publicly include:

App review outcomes (approved, rejected, and appealed)
App review timelines
Developer complaints and outcomes
Interoperability request outcomes and timelines

Monitoring and transparency aim to hold the companies accountable and give developers insight into app store operations.

Should Apple or Google fail to implement their commitments effectively, the CMA has indicated it could introduce formal conduct requirements — enforceable rules backed by penalties — to ensure compliance.

Developer and Observer Reactions

Industry reaction to the commitments has been mixed. Some developers and advocacy groups, such as the Coalition for App Fairness, have argued that voluntary commitments do not go far enough to promote genuine competition or address deeper issues like high commission fees and restrictions on alternative app stores. Critics contend that without legally binding measures or stronger remedies, entrenched market power may persist.

Nonetheless, the CMA sees these commitments as pragmatic first steps, delivering swift improvements while the regulator continues broader work to strengthen fairness in the app ecosystem, including matters such as app distribution terms and access to digital wallet functionality.

Looking Ahead: Further Regulatory Work

The CMA is actively seeking views from stakeholders on the proposed commitments through a consultation period that runs until 3 March 2026. Following this period, the commitments are expected to take effect on 1 April 2026.

These initiatives form part of a wider regulatory programme aimed at ensuring mobile platforms operate in ways that support innovation, competition, and consumer choice. The CMA has signalled that this work will continue throughout 2026, potentially addressing other areas such as app distribution terms, pricing structures, and access to major mobile platform features.