On an Android-based device, Google Search App First Screen Placement Judging by exclusion of competitor search
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission is expected to rule on Google’s search service in violation of anti-monopoly laws.
On the 22nd, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that the FTC judged that the contract to give smartphone manufacturers preferential Google search was unfairly suggesting competition.
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission sent an order to Google to take exclusion measures, asking Google to cancel violations. The Japanese government’s administrative action against Google is the second after April.
What the Japanese government saw as a problem is its business relationship with a manufacturer that makes a terminal equipped with Android, a smartphone operating system (OS) developed by Google.
Google is demanding that the Google search app be placed on the first screen on the condition that the app store is installed on the device. It also has a contract to distribute a portion of advertising revenue to manufacturers if the loading of third-party search apps is restricted.
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission determined that Google may have excluded competitors from the search service market due to such actions.
The antitrust law prohibits acts that are likely to hinder fair competition. If the violation is admitted, the company shall cancel the act or take measures to prevent a recurrence.
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission began reviewing related content in October last year, and it has been concluded this time. Currently, Google accounts for about 80% of search engines for PCs and smartphones in Japan.
Google search services are currently suspected of being monopolized in Europe and the United States. In the United States, Google lost an anti-trust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in August. In this regard, Google recently submitted its own improvement plan to the court.