JFTC Releases Draft Guidelines for New Law Regulating Tech Giants; Examples of Illegal Conduct Provided to Prevent Circumvention

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, May 16, 2025

The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) announced Thursday draft guidelines for a new law that will regulate tech giants such as Apple and Google. The guidelines will provide detailed examples of legal and illegal conduct to prevent tech giants from circumventing the regulations.

The guidelines also consider the safety and security of smartphone users, and provide examples of cases that do not constitute a violation, such as when the purpose is to ensure security.

The draft guidelines for the Law on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software include approximately 110 concrete examples of constitutes a violation and what does not. The JFTC plans to officially approve the guidelines as early as July after soliciting public comments, and to implement the new law and regulations on Dec. 18.

Apple and Google will be required to submit a report on Dec. 18 stating their compliance with the regulations.

The new law will require Apple to allow other companies to open app stores and prohibits the tech giants from unfairly discriminating against companies that distribute apps in screening and other processes.