Japan’s competition watchdog is expected to find Google guilty of violating the country’s antitrust law, Nikkei Asia reported yesterday, citing sources.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) would soon issue a cease and desist order asking Google to halt its monopolistic practices, the report said.
Google did not immediately respond to request for comment while the JFTC could not be reached for comment.
Photo: AFP
The Japanese competition watchdog started investigating Google for a possible breach of anti-monopoly laws in Web search services in October last year, following similar steps by authorities in Europe and other major economies.
Chrome is the world’s most widely used Web browser and is a pillar of Google’s business, providing user information that helps the company target ads more effectively and profitably.
Last month, the US Department of Justice argued before a judge that Alphabet Inc-owned Google must divest its Chrome browser and should not be allowed to re-enter the browser market for five years in an effort to end Google’s search monopoly.
On Friday, Google called the justice department plan to force it to sell its Web browser “extreme” and at odds with the law.
The company urging a federal court judge to take caution lest he stifle innovation and future investment.
The company said the proposed Chrome sale does not fit the company’s conduct that the judge found illegal — which involved exclusive contracts with browsers, smartphone manufacturers and telecom carriers.
“Extreme remedies are discouraged” by courts, the company said in a court filing.
The remedies for anticompetitive conduct “must be of the ‘same type or class’ as the violations,” Google added.
The judge has scheduled a proceeding in April to decide how to fix the dearth of competition in the industries Google has dominated and promised to have a final decision by August next year.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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