Our joint submission on Google's strategic market status: A call for fairness in digital journalism
- Independent Media Association
- Jul 23
- 1 min read
We have responded to an invitation from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to comment on their proposal decision to designate Google as having Strategic Marketing Status (SMS).
Our response is a joint submission, sent on behalf of several hundred publishers, represented through four associations: the Independent Media Association (IMA), Independent Community News Network (ICNN), Association of Online Publishers and the Independent Publishers Alliance. These all produce journalism-based original information content, and share similar concerns about the impact of Google’s dominant market position on their businesses.
To summarise, we welcome the CMA’s proposal to designate Google as having Strategic Market Status (SMS), and the range of remedies proposed in the Roadmap. Google’s near-total monopoly over digital search and advertising has created a range of market distortions over the last fifteen years. These have particularly impacted the independent publishers represented by our associations, many of whom are small, under-resourced and serve minority audiences. The result has been less competition in the UK news media market, as well as a decline in the provision and availability of news and information published in the public interest for UK audiences.
You can download the full submission below.