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Japan’s antitrust watchdog to find Google violated law in search case: report

Japan’s antitrust watchdog to find Google violated law in search case: report

Japan’s competition watchdog is expected to find Google guilty of violating the country’s antitrust law, Nikkei Asia reported Sunday (December 22), citing sources.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) will soon issue a cease-and-desist order requiring Google to end its monopolistic practices, the report added.

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment and the JFTC could not be reached for comment.

Japan’s competition watchdog began investigating Google last October for possible violations of antimonopoly laws in web search services, following similar moves by European authorities and other major savings.

Chrome is the world’s most widely used web browser and is a pillar of Google’s business, providing information to users that helps the company target ads more effectively and cost-effectively.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice argued before a judge that Google, owned by Alphabet, must sell its Chrome browser and should not be allowed to re-enter the browser market for five years in an effort to end Google’s search monopoly.