The Competition and Markets Authority has published the responses to its consultation on a proposed steering conduct requirement affecting Google’s mobile platform, the latest step in an ongoing case that could reshape how UK users and app developers interact with Android and Chrome.
The responses were published on 14 August 2026, following a consultation the CMA launched on 30 June 2026. A “steering conduct requirement” is regulatory shorthand for rules that would govern how Google can limit, or must allow, app developers to direct or “steer” UK users towards alternative payment methods or services outside Google’s own systems.
How we got here
The case dates back to a final decision on 22 October 2025, when the CMA designated Google as having strategic market status, or SMS, in respect of its mobile platform. That designation covers three areas specifically: Google’s mobile operating systems, native app distribution, and its mobile browser and browser engine. The SMS tag is a formal legal status under the UK’s newer digital markets competition regime, created to give the CMA powers to impose binding conduct requirements on firms found to hold substantial and entrenched market power.
The designation followed a proposed decision put out for consultation on 23 July 2025, which closed on 20 August 2025. Non-confidential responses to that consultation were published on 11 September 2025, before the CMA confirmed its final decision in October.
Commitments and app store rules
Separately, on 10 February 2026 the CMA sought views on commitments offered by both Apple and Google covering app review, app ranking and use of data, part of wider work on fairness in app stores and interoperability with iOS. On 1 April 2026, the regulator published Google’s final commitments alongside a call for evidence on recent developments affecting app store rules.
What it means for UK businesses and users
For UK app developers, the practical question is whether, and how, they will be permitted to tell customers about cheaper payment options available outside Google’s in-app systems, a restriction that has long been a flashpoint in competition disputes over app stores worldwide. For everyday users of Android phones in the UK, the outcome could affect app pricing, choice of browsers, and how easily they can switch between services.
Google has engaged with the process by offering commitments, as published by the CMA, though the regulator’s own case page does not record a formal company statement responding to the latest steering conduct consultation outcome.
What to watch next
The CMA has not published a date in its case file for a final decision on the steering conduct requirement itself. Readers should watch for a further announcement from the CMA setting out whether, and in what form, the steering rules will be formally imposed on Google’s mobile platform in the UK.