Japan tells Google to stop 'pressuring' smartphone makers to preinstall its search app

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – Japan’s competition watchdog on Tuesday told Google to stop “unfairly pressuring” smartphone makers to preinstall its widely used search app, Kyodo News reported.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission concluded that Google, which dominated the online search market, violated the antitrust law and severely undermined competition.

This marked the first such order issued to Google by Japan’s competition watchdog.

Since at least July 2020, Google has mandated that six smartphone makers using its Android operating system preinstall Google apps, such as the Chrome browser, according to the commission.

These agreements covered at least 80% of Android devices sold in Japan.

Google also entered into agreements with four device manufacturers and one telecom operator, offering a share of its advertising revenue in exchange for not preinstalling apps from rival companies on their devices.