Tech Desk 
Apr 16, 2025
An undated image. — Unsplash
Following in the footsteps of a significant antitrust trial ongoing against Meta for anticompetitive practices, Japan has slammed Google with its first-ever cease-and-desist order, accusing the company of violating anti-monopoly laws.
The East Asian country claimed that Google went into agreements with smartphone manufacturers, illicitly compelling them to preinstall its apps.
This significant move has been taken by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), indicating a comprehensive surveillance of tech giants.
JFTC noted that Google committed contravention of competition laws by requiring Android smartphone makers to preinstall Google Play and Google Chrome on home screens in prominent positions, all in a bid to counter rival search engine apps.
Google's contracts undermined fair competition in the search engine landscape, said Saiko Nakajima, senior investigator for digital platforms at the JFTC, adding that “Google’s conduct has created a risk of impeding fair competition.”
Involving approximately 80% of all Android smartphones in Japan, Google has been in agreements with smartphone manufacturers since at least July 2020.
The contracts were purportedly based on clauses that guaranteed manufacturers' share from the advertising revenue, on the condition of setting Google Chrome as the default browser and not installing competitor apps.
