2024-04-24 06:56:57
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission may soon take administrative action against American technology giant Google in connection with its digital advertising business, Day.Az reports, citing Japanese media.
The Fair Trade Commission has investigated Google over suspicions that the company unfairly restricted deals for LY, the operator of Internet portal Yahoo Japan and messaging app Line, in violation of Japan’s antitrust laws, sources said.
In response to the investigation, Google is understood to have voluntarily submitted a plan to improve the situation to the Fair Trade Commission under the administrative action process required by law. Under this procedure, Google will be exempt from fines and cease-and-desist orders if the improvement plan is found to be effective.
The Commission’s investigation focused on so-called search-linked ads, which display ads related to keywords used to search for information online, the sources said. For this type of advertising, Google’s system has been adopted by Yahoo Japan.
But in the mid-2010s, Google asked Yahoo to stop distributing search-related advertising on mobile devices, and Yahoo accepted the request. Yahoo was apparently concerned that if it failed, it would not be able to use Google’s system.
The Commission concluded that Google’s conduct may constitute a violation of antitrust laws. It is believed that Google withdrew its request to Yahoo after the investigation was launched. In March this year, the Commission notified Google of a possible violation of the law.
Last October, the commission said it had launched an investigation into Google for allegedly unreasonably requiring smartphone makers to favor its search and other services over competing products for their phones.
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