1. The U.K.’s competition watchdog, CMA, has raised concerns over Big Tech’s dominance in the advanced AI market.
2. The CMA’s Update Paper warns of the risks posed by powerful partnerships and integrated firms in the AI sector.
3. The CMA is closely monitoring GAMMA’s partnerships and will step up its merger review to address potential anti-competitive behavior.
The U.K.’s competition watchdog, the CMA, has expressed concerns over Big Tech’s dominant position in the advanced AI market. It highlighted the increasing interconnection and concentration among developers in the tech sector, with Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple (GAMMA) playing a significant role across the AI value chain. The regulator warned that powerful partnerships and integrated firms could harm competition by reducing choice, quality, and raising prices.
The CMA identified three key risks related to fair competition in the AI market: firms controlling critical inputs for AI development, tech giants distorting choice for AI services, and partnerships exacerbating market power. The watchdog is closely monitoring GAMMA’s partnerships and may use merger review powers to investigate anti-competitive arrangements.
The CMA’s CEO, Sarah Cardell, emphasized the importance of fair competition in the AI market to ensure the benefits of advanced AI flow to businesses and consumers. The watchdog is calling on AI giants to follow the development principles it outlined to promote responsible AI development. While the CMA does not have concrete measures to announce yet, it is closely tracking partnerships in the AI market and may intervene if necessary to prevent anti-competitive behavior.