Tech Google in violation of Japanese antitrust law in search case

[thomas]

The Japan Fair Trade Commission, Japan's antitrust watchdog, is preparing to find Google guilty of breaking competition laws. The commission believes Google abused its power by forcing smartphone makers to favour its search engine on Android phones. This included incentivizing manufacturers to limit access to competing search services. The commission will soon issue an order demanding Google stop these anti-competitive practices. However, unlike some Western regulators, they are not expected to impose a fine. Instead, Google must cease its harmful actions and implement measures to prevent future violations.

Google's overwhelming market dominance in the search market is the source of its competitive edge. According to web analytics service StatCounter, Google has a market share of about 80% in online search for personal computers and smartphones in Japan. The European Union fined Google 4.34 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in 2018 for antitrust violations, which included pressuring makers of Android-powered phones to preinstall its Google Search app. In August, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that Google had unlawfully monopolized the market for search through its contracts with business partners. The Department of Justice presented to the court measures aimed at halting Google's monopolistic practices, including requesting that the company be forced to sell its Chrome browser business.

Paywall alert:

Japan antitrust watchdog to find Google violated law in search case

Fair Trade Commission sees problems in contracts with smartphone makers

asia.nikkei.com

Japan to issue cease-and-desist order against Google

The Japanese antitrust watchdog found that the U.S. company has forced smartphone makers to install its search app.

www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I'm always amazed how fast Google tracks you. If I use Google to search for a item/product , within minutes I'm inundated with ads for the same item.

 

[musicisgood]

In Japan, isn't Yahoo a favorite search engine?

 

[mdchachi]

I'm always amazed how fast Google tracks you. If I use Google to search for a item/product , within minutes I'm inundated with ads for the same item.

You should set your default search engine to duckduckgo.