The Japanese government has started a battle of “exclusive pre-regulation” against Google and Apple, which monopolize the smartphone app store.
According to an investigation report by the Japan Fair Trade Commission on the 9th, “Apple has made it impossible to use the iPhone for purposes other than its own ‘App Store’ that does not create competition. Google offers other app stores such as Amazon and Samsung Electronics, but 97% of apps are downloaded from Google Play. Concerns that the two companies will use their dominant position to favor services or impose unfavorable conditions on app companies. has revealed
A high-ranking official from the Fair Trade Commission stressed at a press conference that day, "The need for regulation to create more active competition where competition does not work," Yomiuri reported.
The Japanese government's new regulation is a ban on behaviors that may have a negative impact on competition by 'pre-regulation', and the existing anti-monopoly law takes a long time to prove violation of the anti-trust law in large-scale IT crackdowns. It shows a completely different approach in 'regulation'.
Regarding 'pre-regulation', Yomiuri said, "Since it takes a tremendous amount of time to prove violations of antitrust laws, there is an increasing trend worldwide to first ban certain acts through pre-regulation and then put pressure on IT giants to correct them." The Union (EU) has already banned the use of the service in the Digital Markets Act, and the US government also announced that it would enact a new law on January 1st.”
US tech giants such as Apple and Google are increasingly resisting the Japanese government's regulatory moves. "The fee is reasonable, and allowing other app stores will increase the risk of computer viruses and put users at greater risk," Apple told Yomiuri, "and is working to block them."
The Japan Fair Trade Commission report said it "identified a particular problem with the lack of competition between the 'basic software (OS)' that runs the smartphone and the 'app store' used to obtain apps."
"Consumers tend to choose between Google's 'Android' phone or Apple's iPhone if they don't switch, which limits competition," the report said. It is not easy to do,” he said.
“The fees paid by app companies are still high, and consumers may not be able to use their apps cheaply,” the report said of the harms of the monopoly of the two tech giants. There are services that charge for it,” he said.
Despite opposition from Apple and Google, as a result of the FTC investigation, the Japanese government is expected to proceed with discussions on how to regulate, and Yomiuri announced that “the fight against IT giants will intensify.”
A California court in the United States decided on November 28 last year a consumer class action lawsuit against 21 million plaintiffs against Alphabet, the parent company of Google, over Google Play App Store fees. It was revealed that the requirements for forming a related class action lawsuit were satisfied, and the class action plaintiffs included individuals using the Google Play app marketplace in 12 states, including Ohio and Michigan, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico.
Thirty-six states, including Utah and New York, and Washington DC also filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in July of last year, and the two lawsuits revealed a mutual cooperation system.
Plaintiffs in these lawsuits claim that the total amount of damages in the United States is $4.7 billion.
The crux of the antitrust suit is that Google issued misleading warnings to prevent app developers from directing customers to competitors and from downloading apps from sources other than Google Play.
During the lawsuit in August 2020, Apple demanded that Samsung disclose business details such as the number of downloads, usage rates, and sales through the Samsung Galaxy App Store in the US market.
Epic Games of 'Fortnite' filed a lawsuit against Apple and Google at the time for 30% commission fee, and filed a lawsuit against Apple and others for violating antitrust laws, and Apple said in the lawsuit, "Samsung also charged a 30% fee for the Galaxy Store app, Yes, on the other hand, I have not been sued for monopoly business,” he filed an antitrust violation against Samsung.
At the time, Apple requested the court to disclose Samsung Electronics' sales information related to the Galaxy App Store since 2006.
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