Around the world, government agencies are calling Google for monopoly practices. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) will reportedly declare that Google is violating the country’s antitrust laws in relation to its search engine, Chrome, and issue a cease and desist order, Nikkei Asia report. The watchdog began an investigation into Google’s practices last October.
The JFTC is reportedly accusing Google of requiring smartphone manufacturers to sign a contract that says Chrome will not only be pre-loaded on all devices, but that it will be placed in a certain spot on the screen. Manufacturers are said to be forced to do this to make Google Play available on their devices.
In the US, federal judge Amit Mehta ruled in November that Google is a “monopolist” in the search engine industry. The Department of Justice (DoJ) then asked Google to sell Chrome as “it would permanently stop Google’s control of this important area of ​​search and allow competing search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is the gateway to the Internet.” The DoJ also requested that Google has stopped favoring Chrome on Android. Google recently issued a motion to appease the DoJ, but said it will appeal the judge’s decision before a trial scheduled for April.
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