Google LLC, affiliated to Alphabet Inc., has received a Cease and Desist Order from Japan's competition Commission for its anticompetitive practices.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission or JFTC issued such an order for the first time against any of the major U.S. technology companies.
In a statement, The JFTC said it has issued the order against Google, for allegedly violating the country's anti-monopoly law by forcing manufacturers to preinstall its apps on their Android smartphones.
As per the Commission, Google, since July 2020 at the latest, has been preventing Search Functionality of other General Search Service providers from being implemented on Specified Android Smartphones.
Google allegedly had forced Android smartphone makers to install Google Play and Google Chrome apps on their phones. They were also required to place them in a location on the home screen that is easy for users to access.
This restricted competition from other search engine apps, thus violating the anti-monopoly law.
The competition watchdog had commenced the investigation on October 23, 2023. In the process of the investigation, the JFTC had also contacted overseas competition authorities that investigated Google's act similar to this case.
Saiko Nakajima, a senior investigator for digital platform operators at the commission, reportedly said, "By binding smartphone manufacturers and telecommunication carriers, Google has made it difficult for other competing search engine applications to be used on Android phones. Google's conduct in this case has created a risk of impeding fair competition concerning transactions — thus, we have determined that this is an act in violation of the Antimonopoly Act."
The cease-and-desist order has now instructed Google to stop committing acts that violate the anti-monopoly law and has barred it from asking manufacturers to preinstall its apps, as well as to compile action guidelines for compliance with the law.
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