Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has initiated an investigation into American tech and internet services giant Google, owned by Alphabet Inc., over suspicions of exploiting its dominant market position to hinder the emergence of competitive services.
The Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Japan’s competition watchdog has begun an inquiry focused on potential violations of fair competition rules.
According to a Japanese official quoted by the newspaper, the commission intends to gather information and perspectives from various parties as part of the investigation. The probe aims to determine whether Google inappropriately pressured smartphone manufacturers to prioritize Google’s search services on their devices.
Bloomberg reported that the Japanese investigation comes as U.S. antitrust authorities are also scrutinizing Google, which owns the world’s most prominent online search engine. U.S. authorities accuse Google of misusing its market dominance to stifle emerging search engines and larger competitors, such as Microsoft.
U.S. investigators have heard testimonies from top executives in the American technology industry, including Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, and Apple’s CEO and financial advisor, Eddie Cue. The investigations are not expected to conclude before the next year. Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, is expected to provide his testimony in the coming weeks.
These investigations signal growing global scrutiny of major tech companies over concerns related to antitrust violations, monopolistic practices, and unfair competition in the tech industry. The outcomes of these investigations could potentially lead to significant regulatory actions in both Japan and the United States.
