Google and Apple now under pressure in Japan as anti-trust investigation starts

The tide has continued to turn against the tech incumbents as governments start attempting to curtail their immense influence.

Apple and Google’s duopoly of the smartphone market, in particular, has come under increased scrutiny and regulation, and after losing battles in USA and South Korea, and front ha moved to Japan, where Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has started a preliminary investigation into competition in the smartphone market.

The Comission, working with the Digital Market Competition Council, is currently compiling a report on the structure of the market and why it has remained static.

At this stage, the investigation will only involve interviews and surveys with OS operators, app developers and smartphone users, and will explore market conditions not only for smartphones, but for smartwatches and other wearables.

The report will compile a list of items it believes are anticompetitive, along with possible violations of Japan’s law against monopolies.

It will probe whether Apple and Google-parent Alphabet are using their market supremacy to corner the apps and leave consumers at a disadvantage.

via Nikkei