Japan's competition watchdog announced Monday that they are conducting an inquiry into Alphabet-owned Google for possible violations of antitrust law related to its search practices on mobile platforms. The Japan Fair Trade Commission has been looking into whether agreements were made by Google with makers of Android smartphones that integrated its own apps and services over others. Google responded by expressing that the Android platform is open-source and has enabled cooperation among partners and device manufacturers.
Japan's competition authority, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, said on Monday that it is probing Google for possible antitrust law violations in relation to its search handling on mobile platforms. The investigation targets agreements that Google supposedly made with Android phone manufacturers, where they would get a share of search ad-related revenue, provided they do not install a competing search engine. At the same time, the agency is also examining if Google services are given precedence on Android devices.
The Japan FTC is requesting third-party opinions as part of its investigation, with submissions to be made by Nov. 22. In response, Google issued a statement to CNBC via email on Monday saying that Android is an open-source platform that has enabled a diversity of partners and device manufacturers with the option for users to customize their devices to suit their needs - including how they browse and search the web or download applications. Google's Android OS has the largest market share of smartphones at roughly 80%. The company has faced increased regulatory attention in recent years. In 2018, the EU imposed a record 4.34 billion euro ($4.6 billion) fine on Google for misusing the power of Android. Although this penalty was reduced upon appeal by Google, the court largely agreed with the ruling from the EU. Last month, the US Department of Justice initiated a court hearing accusing Google of breaching anti-monopoly law through exclusive contracts with phone manufacturers and browser developers to make its search engine the default for users. This is the most important tech antitrust case in the US in decades.- CNBC's Lauren Feiner contributed to this report.
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