The Japan Fair Trade Commission plans to issue a cease-and-desist order against Google over what it says is a violation of the antimonopoly law by forcing smartphone manufacturers to include the company’s search app on their smartphones.
Such an order would be the first to be issued in the country against any of a group of U.S. global technology companies collectively referred to as GAFA — Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon — before Facebook changed its name to Meta.
The commission is accusing Google of forcing smartphone manufacturers in Japan to sign a contract in which they must preinstall its Google search app and have it located in a specific position on the devices’ screens in order for them to be able to access the Google Play app store.
