LONDON— Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google hold a “vise-like grip” over how people use mobile devices, Britain’s antitrust regulator said Tuesday, adding it was assessing whether to try to loosen what it said was their control over smartphone ecosystems.
The preliminary report is among several, nonbinding research efforts by the U.K. and other antitrust regulators in Europe into competition in the tech industry. It doesn’t come with any regulatory action like fines or remedial orders. Still, previous reports have laid the foundation for more specific action and legislative proposals by regulators in the U.K. and Europe.