Japan plans antitrust legislation to break tech giants' app store monopolies

Japan is gearing up to introduce legislation in 2024 that would impose regulations on tech giants like Apple and Google, requiring them to allow external app stores and payment options on their mobile operating systems.

The proposed legislation aims to prevent the abuse of dominant positions by platform operators, with a focus on app stores and payments, search, browsers, and operating systems. The Japan Fair Trade Commission would have the authority to impose fines for violations, potentially amounting to around 6% of revenue earned from the problematic activities.

The move is seen as an effort to foster competition and reduce the effective monopolies on in-app payments, benefiting both users and third-party app providers.

The Japanese plans follow measures such as the European Union's Digital Markets Act. This law, scheduled for full implementation in 2024, prohibits "gatekeepers" from favoring their own tools in search results, and violators face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover for the previous fiscal year.