The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has issued a “cease and desist” order against Google, requiring it to stop dictating that Android handset makers bundle its search engine and apps, a move that could reshape how the tech company operates in Japan.
In a statement, the commission said that Google violated Japan’s antitrust monopoly law by requiring Android phone makers to prioritize Google apps and services through licensing agreements. These contracts give Google an unfair advantage over competitors, sidelining rival services. This is the first time Japan has taken action against a major US-based tech company over antitrust concerns.
The Android mobile operating system is free for consumers and manufacturers to install, but manufacturers need a license to include Gmail, Google Maps, and the Google Play Store—collectively called Google Mobile Services (GMS). These licensing fees vary and are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Google’s Android is the world’s largest mobile operating system, accounting for roughly 80 percent of the smartphone market.
The JFTC argues that Google also used deals to require phone makers to preinstall and prominently feature Google Search and Chrome on devices, with at least six such agreements in effect with Android manufacturers as of December 2024. The commission added that Google’s contracts require manufacturers to exclude rival search services as a condition of its advertising revenue-sharing model.
Japan’s competition watchdog announced its probe into Google on October 23, 2023, and in April 2024, it approved a commitment plan from Google that addressed some of its anti-competitive concerns.
The cease and desist order against Google marks a significant step by Japan’s competition watchdog, especially amid President Trump’s ongoing tariff dispute. Japan was hit with a 24 per cent tariff on its exports to the US on Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” on April 2. Like most of Trump’s new tariffs, they have been paused for 90 days. However, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that Japan does not plan to make major concessions in negotiations with the US and will not rush to reach a deal.
Google has been asked to appoint an independent third party to report to the JFTC on its compliance with the cease and desist order over the next five years.
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This is not the first time Google has faced scrutiny over monopolistic behavior. Alphabet’s Google has come under the watch of regulators around the world in recent years. In 2018, the European Union fined Google a record €4.34 billion ($4.6 billion) for abusing the dominance of Android. In January this year, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Google’s search services, following the country’s stricter enforcement of new competition rules.
Although Apple is a rival to Google, the two companies have a lucrative agreement in which Google pays Apple more than $18 billion a year to remain the default search engine in Safari on iPhones, Macs, and iPads. Last year, the US Justice Department and several states sued Google for illegally maintaining its dominance by paying Apple to remain the default search engine on the iPhone and other services. Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who is presiding over the non-jury trial, is expected to deliver a verdict later this year.
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