Japanese regulators have ordered Google to stop practices they say breach national antitrust laws, marking the first time the country has issued such a directive to a global technology company.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) issued a cease-and-desist order on Tuesday, accusing the US tech giant of using its dominant position to restrict fair competition in the mobile market.
“We have concluded that Google LLC’s conduct threatens to impede fair competition,” Saiko Nakajima, a senior official at the JFTC, told reporters.
At the centre of the complaint is Google’s requirement that smartphone manufacturers pre-install its Google Play app store alongside the Chrome browser and its search functions in order to access key Android services. The JFTC claims this practice, which dates back to at least July 2020, limits consumer choice and stifles innovation.
A Japanese government source previously told AFP that the dominance of Google Play is so significant that Android phones without it are “basically unsellable”.
Although no financial penalties were announced, the JFTC said the order should broaden the choices available to smartphone makers and encourage healthier market competition.
“This will encourage competition and benefit society,” Nakajima added.
Google Japan responded by expressing disappointment in the decision. “Our agreements with Japanese partners help to promote competition and have undeniably boosted their ability to invest in product innovations which deliver more choice for consumers,” the company said in a statement. “We will review the order thoroughly to determine our next steps.”
The move reflects growing global scrutiny of major tech firms. In the United States, regulators have asked a judge to consider breaking up Google, including the potential sale of its Chrome browser. Meanwhile, the European Commission has warned that the company could face a fine of up to 10 percent of its global revenue unless it complies with antitrust rules.
Japan’s latest intervention follows a similar investigation last year into Amazon Japan, where the e-commerce giant was accused of abusing its dominant position to force sellers into lowering prices by leveraging its influential “buy box” feature.
