Regulation
The Competition and Markets Authority has concluded its consultation on updated proposals for a user choice conduct requirement governing Google's general search services, following an initial round of conduct requirements consulted on in January 2026. The CMA designated Google as having strategic market status in general search and search advertising in October 2025, the first use of its new powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. The updated proposals focus on how Google presents choices to consumers and how its choice architecture influences decision-making. The consultation ran from 23 September 2026 and is now closed, with the CMA analysing feedback. Separately, Britain's CMA has already imposed a binding publisher opt-out requirement on Google, requiring Google to let publishers opt out of having their content power AI features in search and used for fine-tuning AI models, with Google required to file compliance reports every six months in the first year. A US federal judge took the opposite approach on 30 September, dismissing antitrust suits from publishers including Penske Media Corporation, finding that an expectation of traffic is not a contractual agreement.
Why this matters
This is the CMA's most significant live intervention under its new digital markets powers, and the outcome of the user choice consultation will set the template for how conduct requirements are designed and enforced against designated strategic market status firms. The divergence between the UK's binding opt-out remedy for publishers and the US federal court's outright dismissal of equivalent publisher claims sharpens the UK's position as a more interventionist jurisdiction for big-tech regulation. For Google, non-compliance carries compulsory compliance reporting obligations and enforcement risk under a regime with no precedent. The consultation outcome will also influence how the CMA approaches parallel proceedings against other designated platforms, making this a bellwether for the entire DMCC Act framework.
On the Ground
Competition lawyers will be advising Google on compliance architecture, drafting compliance reports, and monitoring the CMA's finalised requirement once published. Publishers and third-party search rivals will need counsel on whether to make representations and how to use the opt-out mechanism effectively. Trainees in a competition group would be tasked with tracking the CMA case page for updates, preparing a comparative note on the UK conduct requirement versus the US dismissals, and summarising the 72-page consultation document for senior associates.
Interview prep
Question you might get
“How does the CMA's user choice conduct requirement for Google differ from the approach taken by US courts, and what does that mean for platform clients operating in both jurisdictions?”
Sign up free to see the full answer
A model answer you can lift into an interview — how to frame this story for a partner.
Sign up freeMy notes
saved