Japan Eyes Huge Fines for Tech Giants over Monopolies

Tokyo, April 15 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government plans to impose fines equal to 20 pct of related domestic revenue under an envisaged bill to prevent monopolies of smartphone apps and other products by technology giants, people familiar with the matter said Monday.

By imposing penalties harsher than the 6 pct fines handed to companies found blocking new entrants, the government hopes to make regulations more effective against tech giants with vast revenue and profits, such as Google and Apple Inc.

The envisaged bill would require tech giants to open up their app stores and payment systems, while banning them from preferential displays of their own services. If the companies continue to ignore such regulations, fines would be raised to 30 pct of domestic revenue in the areas where violations were found.

The government aims to get the bill enacted during the current parliamentary session set to end in June.

Tech giants currently have full control of smartphone operating systems and app stores. The government aims to strengthen regulations on them to promote competition and encourage new entrants to make service fees lower.

The envisaged bill would allow tech giants to take necessary measures to ensure the security of app stores when opening up such platforms to other entrants.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission would ask tech giants to submit a report every year, to check their compliance with the regulations.

The European Union currently imposes fines of up to 10 pct of global revenue for violations of the Digital Markets Act, which prohibits tech giants from giving preferential treatment to their own services and requires such firms to open up their app stores.

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