Katie Kapernaros joined the Competition and Markets Authority’s Google mobile platform subcommittee in August, replacing Martin Coleman from September, the regulator said on Thursday.
The change comes under the CMA’s case on Google’s mobile platform, in which the regulator has designated Google as having strategic market status (SMS) in its mobile platform.
The designation covers Google’s mobile operating system, native app distribution and its mobile browser and browser engine. The final decision was published on 22 October 2025.
Will Hayter, the CMA’s Executive Director for Digital Markets, said when the decision was announced that Apple and Google’s platforms were used by thousands of businesses to sell to millions of customers, but that “the platforms’ rules may be limiting innovation and competition”.
According to the decision notice, the designation began on 23 October 2025 and has effect until 22 October 2030.
Android is within scope, as are parts of Google Play Services, the Play Store for installing and running native apps, and the Chrome browser and Blink browser engine.
The CMA must begin a further investigation no later than nine months before the end of the five-year period, unless one is already under way. That investigation would test whether to revoke the designation or designate Google again.
The CMA said designation is not a finding of wrongdoing and introduces no immediate requirements. It lets the regulator consider targeted interventions so that consumers and businesses relying on Google and Apple can have confidence they are treated fairly.
The regulator gave its reasons as follows: UK mobile device holders use either Apple’s or Google’s platform and are unlikely to switch, and businesses must build for both to reach all users.
It also judged that AI and other technological developments are unlikely to remove either company’s market power over the five-year period.
Hayter said the app economy generates 1.5 per cent of UK GDP and supports around 400,000 jobs. The CMA heard from more than 150 stakeholders before deciding.
One intervention under way for Google is a proposed steering conduct requirement. Steering is the ability of app developers to tell customers about off-platform payment options, which Apple bans and Google restricts in the UK.
The CMA launched its consultation on 30 June 2026. It would expect steering fees to be lower than current app store charges, with savings passed to UK customers or reinvested in developers’ businesses.
Responses were due by 5pm on 28 July 2026, and the CMA published them on 14 August 2026. It said at launch that it would decide whether to impose new requirements after considering the feedback.
Google announced new global Play Store terms on 24 June, due to take effect in the UK on the day the consultation opened.
They allow developers to steer users outside the Play Store to complete transactions, subject to certain restrictions, and change the fees Google charges developers, including those using steering.
The CMA said it will assess the likely impact of those changes on users and businesses in the next phase of its mobile platforms work.
Earlier, on 1 April 2026, it published final commitments given by Google on app review, app ranking and use of data.