Japan investigates possible abuse of power by Apple and Google in smartphone market

The Japanese competition authority has launched an investigation into the monopoly behavior of Apple and Google in the smartphone and wearable market. With the investigation, the authority wants to see whether the two companies hinder competitors and disadvantage consumers.

For the investigation, the watchdog will interview app developers and smartphone users and send out surveys, Nikkei Asia reports. This should produce a report that clarifies the market structure. For example, the authority wants to be able to see why competition in the market for smartphones and wearables has turned out to be ‘static’. Any examples of anticompetitive behavior should also be included in this report.

It is not clear when the investigation should be completed. In Japan, according to Nikkei, iOS has a smartphone market share of 70 percent; Android has the rest of the market. Apple and Google are under increasing pressure worldwide due to alleged anti-competitive behavior. For example, the British competition authority launched an investigation into the smartphone duopoly, the European Commission accused Apple of distorting competition and three American senators want to limit the power of the two companies with regard to app stores.