Japan: Closed consultation on FTC investigation into Google over alleged violations of Antimonopoly Act

On 22 November 2023, the public consultation closed on the Japan Fair Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into Google over alleged violations of the Antimonopoly Act. In particular, FTC aims to determine whether Google's licensing agreements with the manufacturers of Android devices allowing them to install the application Google Play on devices they manufacture while requiring them to install Google applications, such as Google Search and Google Chrome and specifying their placement on the device's screen, are compliant with the Act. Furthermore, the FTC will assess the legality of the agreements with Android device manufacturers, which allow for returning part of the revenue obtained from search-related advertising services on the condition that Google's competing search applications are not installed on the device.