Google Sanctioned by Japanese Regulators for Limiting Competitor Ads

Apr 22, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - In a historic move, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has issued its first administrative sanction against American tech giant Google.

Nakajima Nako, the Senior Examination Officer at the JFTC, stated, "There is a suspicion that Google has violated the provisions of the Antimonopoly Act." This centers around the "search-linked advertising" service, which displays ads related to searched terms on websites. Since 2010, "LINE Yahoo" has been receiving technology from Google to support this service.

According to the JFTC, Google had restricted the delivery of some of LINE Yahoo's search-linked ads since 2014. Despite Google submitting a prevention plan to avoid further issues, the JFTC implemented an administrative measure today to enforce this plan.

This is the first time Google has been subject to administrative action by the JFTC. Moving forward, the advertising business will undergo regular audits involving external experts to ensure compliance.

On the other hand, Google maintains that "it has not been found to have violated antitrust laws," emphasizing that its practices have not been legally declared illegal.

Source: TBS

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