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Japan's competition watchdog will likely find Google guilty in antitrust case

Japan's competition watchdog will likely find Google guilty in antitrust case (Image Source: Photo by Shutter Speed on Unsplash)
Japan's competition watchdog will likely find Google guilty in antitrust case (Image Source: Photo by Shutter Speed on Unsplash)
Japan's Fair Trade Commission is set to declare Google guilty of violating the country's antimonopoly act, according to a new report from Nikkei. The problem stems from Google's contracts with smartphone manufacturers.

Nikkei Asia reported that Japan's Fair Trade Commission will declare Google guilty of breaking the country's antimonopoly laws. The watchdog has determined Google's contracts with smartphone manufacturers "unfairly restrict competition" in the search market.   

The watchdog says the US technology firm's contracts include prerequisites for installing Google's Search app and Chrome browser on Android devices, potentially limiting competition in the search and browser market. Google is facing several antimonopoly cases for its practices around the world, including in the US. 

The US government filed a proposal last month to divest Google Chrome and Android to stop the company's monopolistic hold over the search engine market. As per the proposal, Google must sell off Chrome and open its search engine to third parties at a marginal cost. The trial will take place in April 2025. 

The Competition Commission of India is investigating Google for anti-competitive behavior based on complaints by domestic real-money gaming company Winzo. Winzo alleges Google has abused its dominant position in the market to treat real-money gaming applications unfavorably.

Source(s)

Nikkei Asia | The Tech Portal

Image Source: Photo by Shutter Speed on Unsplash

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2024 12 > Japan's competition watchdog will likely find Google guilty in antitrust case
Rohith Bhaskar, 2024-12-23 (Update: 2024-12-23)