According to France24, this is the first time the country has applied such commands for a global technology corporation, in the context of countries like Europe and many other places are tightening monitoring of technology "giants".
According to Ms. Saiko Nakajima of the Japanese Trade Committee (JFTC), Google's behavior is concluded to threaten fair competition in the market. Specifically, JFTC accused Google for imposing binding conditions for Android smartphone manufacturers in Japan, at least from July in July 2020.
The problem revolves around the integration of search features on Android phones. Google is said to have asked Google Play - its popular online app store - must be installed with the Chrome web browser. This is considered to make it difficult for phone manufacturers if they do not follow, because there is no Google Play, Android devices are almost impossible to sell in the market, according to a government source.
JFTC emphasized that this request, though not accompanied by financial penalties, will expand the choice for smartphone manufacturers, encourage competition and benefit society in general. This is the next step in the monitoring process of large technology corporations to protect the fair business environment in Japan.
Responding to JFTC's move, Google Japan expressed his disappointment and said that their agreements with domestic partners have promoted competition and support investment in innovative products, thereby providing more options for consumers. The Google representative said it would carefully review the content of this command to decide the next step.
Earlier, in 2023, the European Commission also asked Google to sell a part of the business if you did not want to face a penalty of up to 10% of global revenue. In November, the US government asked the Court to ask the Chrome browser from Google in an attempt to fight monopoly.
In Japan, in addition to Google, JFTC also investigated Amazon Japan when he thought that the company had abused its position to pressure sellers to lower prices, thereby gaining competitive advantage compared to other e -commerce platforms. Amazon accused of using the prominent position "Buy Box" on his website as a tool to put pressure on partners.
