Tag: google

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Google stepped into Japanese browser firm, given an administrative slap

TOKYO, April 24, 2024—Google Inc.’s size and power have prevailed over Japan’s antirust agency, when the authority gave a light, ambiguous administrative order to the internet giant with no fine April 23, 2024.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission released a statement emphasized that the administrative order it termed a ‘commitment procedure’ issued to Google’ to correct its business restrictions on digital advertisement distributions of Line Yahoo Co. of Japan was the first time Japan has issued to a multinational internet giant.

JFTC said it did not slap a fine on Google because the company pledged to discontinue its restrictive business practice on LY and that it would supply relevant technology to LY during the next three years as well as that it would submit progress reports to JFTC.

LY had to use Google’s search engine for running on-line ads.

The latest episode is indicative that Japanese administrative authority are reluctant to challenge U.S. big tech companies head-on for fear of unpredictable reprisal and implicit political pressure to keep stable U.S.-Japan tech ties. U.S. big tech CEOs were seen at the recent White House state dinner President Biden hosted for PM Kishida.

So what was this JFTC slap on Google’s wrist about? It’s a small theater performance for the antitrust watchdog to show that it’s there among Japaneses government offices and doing some work.

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Japan set to double surcharges on Apple and Google antitrust violations

TOKYO, April 14, 2024—Coined after the EU digital markets act, the Japanese government is gearing to enact legislation that would penalize with double the current maximum surcharges on anti-monopoly acts of gatekeepers – effectively, Apple Inc. and Google Inc. alone – of their operating platforms’ market dominance.

The current surcharge is 1/10th of revenue identified connected to Anti-Monopoly Law violation acts. The surcharge on violations if committed and admitted by the two respective companies will be raised to 20 percent, and repeated violations will be subject to 30 percent.

The gatekeepers also would have to submit reports on their platform administration and activities to the Fair Trade Commission annually, and should suspected acts of violations were identified, JFTC would refer the cases to court.

In March, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Apple for violation of the antitrust act. The Japanese legislation is the second one after 2021, when it enforced the digital platform transaction transparency act that outlined detailed information disclosures on platforms.

The commission plans to have legislation adopted by the cabinet by the end of April for submitting the draft legislation to the Diet (parliament) immediately afterwards.

At issue that the JFTC is probing as potential antitrust problems is exclusivity of iOS and Android smart phone operation system-based applications developed and made public by third parties on their respective platforms. JFTC in the past pointed out to Apple about high fees the company collects from iOS application developers in selling them and exclusivity of not offering them on Android and other platforms of other gatekeepers.

JFTC also is expected to demand that consumers be given greater latitude in customizing the downloaded applications, as well as the two gatekeepers’ platform configurations to guide consumers to use the platforms and applications with priority.

Apple commands a lion’s share of both hardware and applications of Japan’s 2.2 trillion yen ($17 billion) smartphone hardware market, in which Apple iPhones accounts for nearly 51 percent. Google is a distant second with 14 percent.

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