Google's Android and Apple's iOS are facing fresh scrutiny from Britain's competition watchdog, which announced investigations Thursday targeting the two tech giants' mobile phone ecosystems under new powers to crack down on digital market abuses.

The country’s Competition and Markets Authority is investigating mobile ecosystems controlled by Apple and Alphabet’s Google to work out if they need to obey a strict new law governing digital competition.

The country's antitrust regulator said it would investigate whether Apple and Google have strategic market status in their mobile ecosystems, including operating systems, app stores and mobile browsers.