Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has announced an investigation into Google to determine whether the company breached regulations by seeking preferential treatment from smartphone manufacturers.
This development adds to the ongoing legal challenges Google faces from competition authorities, including those in the United States.
The probe centers on Google’s alleged practice of requiring smartphone manufacturers to include its search apps on their devices and position them prominently.
Google is also said to have entered into agreements with Android device manufacturers, wherein they agreed not to include competing search apps in their products in exchange for a share of the advertising revenue generated from Google searches.
The commission plans to gather public input on this matter until November 22, as part of their investigative process.