Japan’s FTC orders Google to fix keyword search undermining fair competition with Yahoo

Japan’s antitrust watchdog said Monday that U.S. search giant Google must fix its advertising search restrictions affecting Yahoo in Japan.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission said in a statement that its recent study of Google’s practices showed it was undermining fair competition in the advertising market.

Yahoo Japan Corp., which has since merged with the Japanese social media platform Line, began keyword-targeted search advertising services using Google’s technology after the two companies formed a tie-up in 2010.

The FTC alleges that Google had imposed restrictions in its search advertising agreement with Yahoo Japan that for more than seven years hindered its ability to compete in targeted search ads.

An FTC investigation into whether that violated the Anti-Monopoly Law led Google to drop the restrictions.

Google said in an emailed statement that it has cooperated fully with the commission’s probe, and stressed the commission has not found it had outright violated anti-monopoly laws. It promised to carry out the commission’s directives to offer “valuable” search functions to Japanese users and advertisers.

Line Yahoo declined comment.

Google will be under review for the next three years, to ensure it carries out needed changes, the commission said. It did not impose any fines or other penalties on Google, which remains popular among Japanese.

The commission’s move follows another setback for Google in Japan. Last week, Japanese doctors filed a civil lawsuit against the company, demanding damages for what they claim are groundless derogatory and often false comments.

The Tokyo District Court suit demands 1.4 million yen ($9,400) in damages for 63 medical professionals, for reviews posted on Google Maps.

Google said in response that it’s working “24 hours a day” to reduce misleading or false information on its platform, combining human and technological resources “to delete fraudulent reviews.”


Yuri Kageyama is on X https://twitter.com/yurikageyama


—Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer

https://www.fastcompany.com/91110476/japans-ftc-orders-google-to-fix-keyword-search-undermining-fair-competition-with-yahoo?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Created 11mo | Apr 22, 2024, 5:10:08 PM


Login to add comment

Other posts in this group

How to cautiously use health advice from social media

In the corners of social media dominated by

Mar 24, 2025, 6:30:09 PM | Fast company - tech
TikTok has a big ADHD problem

ADHD content has been trending on TikTok for a while. Unsurprisingly, much of it has been found to be misleading. 

A study published last week

Mar 24, 2025, 4:20:05 PM | Fast company - tech
Section 230 faces bipartisan repeal effort. Experts say it’s a risky bet

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—the provision that protects tech platforms from legal liability for content posted by their users—has long been a point of contention among lawmakers.

Mar 24, 2025, 4:20:04 PM | Fast company - tech
Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen on what business leaders need to know about Trump’s tariffs

Trump’s tariff war is causing vast disruption across international trade. Ryan Petersen, foun

Mar 24, 2025, 1:50:06 PM | Fast company - tech
How ‘The Matrix’ helped build—and break—beleaguered production company Village Roadhouse

The name Village Roadshow might not ring a bell with every moviegoer, but "> the company’s logo almost certainly will. Its shimmering, nested

Mar 24, 2025, 11:40:02 AM | Fast company - tech
Would you pay $4,000 to solve your streaming movie problems?

Let’s say you were spending tens of thousands of dollars to build yourself a fancy home theater. How would you go about actually watching movies in it?

While you could always set u

Mar 24, 2025, 9:20:04 AM | Fast company - tech
These tech companies are building healthier social media habits for kids

The last year has seen a global reckoning with the effects of social media on kids. Australia banned

Mar 23, 2025, 12:30:02 PM | Fast company - tech