Japan's antitrust authority has issued a directive to Google, requiring the tech giant to rectify its advertising search limitations that impact Yahoo in Japan.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission stated in a release on Monday that its investigation into Google's practices revealed actions that hinder fair competition within the advertising sector.
Google responded via email, stating its full cooperation with the commission's investigation and emphasizing that no outright violation of anti-monopoly laws had been found. The company pledged to adhere to the commission's directives, ensuring the provision of "valuable" search functions for Japanese users and advertisers.
Meanwhile, Yahoo's merger with Japanese social media platform Line saw no immediate comment from Line Yahoo.
The alleged problematic practices by Google date back approximately a decade and persisted for over seven years, according to the commission. Google will undergo scrutiny over the next three years to implement necessary changes, with no immediate fines or penalties imposed, considering its continued popularity among Japanese users.
This move by the commission comes in the wake of another setback for Google in Japan. Last week, Japanese medical professionals filed a civil lawsuit against the company, seeking damages for what they claim are unwarranted derogatory and often inaccurate comments.
In response, Google stated its continuous efforts to combat misleading or false information on its platform, employing a combination of human and technological resources to address fraudulent reviews.
More: https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-japan-anti-monopoly-body-google.html
