The United Kingdom Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled on Friday in favor of Apple's appeal challenging the UK Competition Markets Authority's (CMA) review of its mobile browsers and cloud gaming, Ednews reports citing Teletrader.
Earlier, the CMA published a report saying its investigation determined that the duopoly between Apple and Google is "leading to less competition and meaningful choice for customers" regarding browsers, operating systems and the distribution of cloud gaming services through app stores.
The court accepted Apple's contention that the CMA's decision was "ultra vires because it was outside the statutory time-limits" stipulated in the Enterprise Act 2002. "The deadline for a notice of a proposed market investigation reference was 15 December 2021, whereas the CMA published its proposal on 10 June 2022, and the deadline for the period of consultation to begin was 15 December 2021, whereas the CMA commenced its consultation on 10 June 2022. This means the Decision lacks the statutory pre-requisites for a valid decision, was ultra vires, and must be quashed," the court explained.
