The Japan Fair Trade Commission has demanded that Google make changes to its digital ad distribution system, believing it violates competition rules. This is said in a statement by the Japanese regulator.
Google agreed with the arguments of the Japanese commission and promised to “make the necessary changes” in its own practices and therefore the company will not be subject to fines under Japanese antitrust laws. This is the first time that Japan's Fair Trade Commission has issued real warnings and requests to Google.
We are talking about restrictions created by Google regarding the company LINE Yahoo. Yahoo entered into a partnership with Google in 2010 and uses Google's search engine and system to distribute paid advertising that is shown to the user after a search query is formed.
The commission found that in mid-2010, Google asked Yahoo to stop serving mobile search ads on its business partners' portals. Yahoo accepted Google's request and changed contracts with its partners. Yahoo, as noted, was concerned that if it failed, it would no longer be able to use Google's search engine. The Japanese regulator believes that such actions can amount to unfair trade.