Latest news with #FairTradeCommission
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Google may launch YouTube Premium sans music amid antitrust probe
HighlightsGoogle is considering launching a cheaper version of YouTube Premium in South Korea, excluding the YouTube Music streaming component, to address anti-competitive concerns raised by the Fair Trade Commission. The Fair Trade Commission of South Korea has been investigating Google for allegedly bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium, which they claim restricts consumer choice and abuses market dominance. In the United States, YouTube has recently expanded its Premium Lite plan, which costs $7.99 per month, as part of efforts to provide more affordable options for users. Google may launch a cheaper version of YouTube Premium without its music streaming component in South Korea in a move aimed at addressing concerns over alleged anti-competitive practices, the country's antitrust watchdog said on Thursday. The self-proposed measure is part of negotiations between the U.S. tech giant and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), which has been investigating Google over suspicions that it violated fair trade rules by bundling YouTube Music to its premium subscription service. In July last year, the FTC issued a report equivalent to a formal prosecution complaint, accusing Google Korea of unfairly bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium, thereby restricting consumer choice and abusing its market dominance, reports Yonhap news agency. The regulator claims Google's practice effectively forced consumers to subscribe to both services, limiting options for those who may have only wanted access to ad-free video streaming. Rather than pursuing a prolonged legal battle, Google has submitted a corrective action plan under the FTC's procedure known as a "consent decision." The mechanism allows the FTC to suspend its investigation if the company voluntarily proposes measures that address the alleged consumer harm. "The FTC will review the validity and appropriateness of Google's proposed corrective actions and will draw up a final consent decision plan," the FTC said Thursday, without disclosing when a final decision would be made. In South Korea, YouTube Premium currently costs 14,900 won (US$10.79) per month, while YouTube Music is offered separately for 11,990 won ($8.38) per month. In the United States, YouTube recently announced it is expanding its Premium Lite pilot program to local users. The Premium Lite plan costs $7.99 per month, significantly lower than the full YouTube Premium subscription at $13.99. In July last year, the US tech giant was accused of providing the YouTube Music streaming service to users of the ad-free YouTube premium program without additional charges in violation of the fair transaction law, and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has carried out an on-site probe since February last year. Officials have said the probe was focused on whether Google has abused its market dominance for implementing such a practice and that it has restricted fair competition in the industry.
Hans India
22-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
South Korea: Google may launch YouTube Premium sans music amid antitrust probe
Google may launch a cheaper version of YouTube Premium without its music streaming component in South Korea in a move aimed at addressing concerns over alleged anti-competitive practices, the country's antitrust watchdog said on Thursday. The self-proposed measure is part of negotiations between the U.S. tech giant and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), which has been investigating Google over suspicions that it violated fair trade rules by bundling YouTube Music to its premium subscription service. In July last year, the FTC issued a report equivalent to a formal prosecution complaint, accusing Google Korea of unfairly bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium, thereby restricting consumer choice and abusing its market dominance, reports Yonhap news agency. The regulator claims Google's practice effectively forced consumers to subscribe to both services, limiting options for those who may have only wanted access to ad-free video streaming. Rather than pursuing a prolonged legal battle, Google has submitted a corrective action plan under the FTC's procedure known as a "consent decision." The mechanism allows the FTC to suspend its investigation if the company voluntarily proposes measures that address the alleged consumer harm. "The FTC will review the validity and appropriateness of Google's proposed corrective actions and will draw up a final consent decision plan," the FTC said Thursday, without disclosing when a final decision would be made. In South Korea, YouTube Premium currently costs 14,900 won (US$10.79) per month, while YouTube Music is offered separately for 11,990 won ($8.38) per month. In the United States, YouTube recently announced it is expanding its Premium Lite pilot program to local users. The Premium Lite plan costs $7.99 per month, significantly lower than the full YouTube Premium subscription at $13.99. In July last year, the US tech giant was accused of providing the YouTube Music streaming service to users of the ad-free YouTube premium program without additional charges in violation of the fair transaction law, and the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has carried out an on-site probe since February last year. Officials have said the probe was focused on whether Google has abused its market dominance for implementing such a practice and that it has restricted fair competition in the industry.
NHK
08-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
15 Tokyo hotel operators receive warning on price, internal information sharing
Japan's antimonopoly watchdog has warned 15 major hotel operators that their long-time practice of sharing room pricing and other internal information could be regarded as illegal price fixing under a cartel in violation of the Antimonopoly Law. The Fair Trade Commission issued the warning on Thursday to 15 operators of major hotels, including Hotel New Otani Tokyo, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, and The Okura Tokyo. The FTC says that for years, their sales representatives took turns hosting monthly meetings where they shared internal information, such as room occupancy rates, average room rates, and future plans for setting rates. The FTC says it has not confirmed any cases in which the 15 hotels raised their room rates simultaneously. However, the FTC has determined that some of the 15 hotels used the information gained from the other hotels as a basis for setting their own room rates. The FTC has issued a warning to the hotel operators, telling them that their practice of sharing information could lead to illegal cartels and unfair price-fixing. The 15 hotel operators say they stopped holding information sharing meetings in the fall of 2024. Tokyo has seen hotel rates surge in recent years, due in part to the increasing number of foreign visitors following the end of the pandemic. An FTC official said at a news conference on Thursday that the hotel industry must recognize the gravity of the problem, in which some of the best and leading hotels in Tokyo were involved in the act of information sharing that could be in violation of the Antimonopoly Law. The FTC says it is concerned that a similar practice of information sharing may also be taking place among hotels that operate outside Tokyo. The FTC instructed two national hotel industry groups to make doubly sure that their member hotels abide by the Antimonopoly Law. In response, the operators of Hotel New Otani Tokyo and Imperial Hotel Tokyo said they take the FTC's warning seriously, and will step up their efforts to comply with the law.
Yomiuri Shimbun
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Fair Trade Commission Report Indicates Possible Antimonopoly Law Violation by Major Taxi App Operators
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The building that houses the Fair Trade Commission and the Public Prosecutors Office is seen in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, in February 2022. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) released a report in late April on an investigation into the use of taxi ordering applications for smartphones. In the report, the JFTC stated that it may be a violation of the Antimonopoly Law if a major operator of such an application arbitrarily favors certain taxi companies in transferring orders or requests taxi companies not to use taxi applications of other operators. Such applications act as intermediaries between taxi users and taxi companies. Among the well-known applications of this kind in Japan are Go, Uber and DiDi. The JFTC began the investigation in October last year. During the investigation, taxi companies that receive orders through such applications expressed concern that application operators may favor taxi companies with which they have a capital relationship when transferring ride orders. The JFTC stated that if a dominant taxi application operator were to arbitrarily favor a particular taxi company when transferring an order, it could constitutes discriminatory treatment of business conditions, which may violate the law. Taxi companies also told the JFTC that, when there is a potentially lucrative order, taxi application operators tend to give priority to taxi companies that only use their applications. If an application operator requires taxi companies not to use other operators' applications as a condition for giving them priority in transferring orders, it constitutes exclusive dealing that may be in violation of the law.
Wall Street Journal
15-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
TNB Tech Minute: Japan Accuses Google of Being Anticompetitive - Tech News Briefing
Full Transcript This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated. Victoria Craig: Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Tuesday, April 15th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. Japan's antitrust regulator has ordered Google to stop what it says are monopolistic practices in mobile search. It's a first of its kind directive from Japan's Fair Trade Commission to a U.S. tech giant. The regulator said, since 2020, Google has prevented competition by pre-installing its own search platforms on the home screens of Android devices. Google said it's disappointed by the findings and believes its agreements with Japanese providers have boosted competition. But it said it would review the regulator's decision to determine its next steps. Elsewhere, some of America's biggest banks are pulling back on sending information electronically to their regulator. People familiar with the matter say that's due to ongoing security concerns after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it's investigating a recent email hack. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon are looking at other ways to send sensitive information. The OCC posted on its website a notice about the hack in February, but people familiar with the situation said some of the banks only learned about the incident from media reports and are still largely in the dark about what information may have been disclosed to hackers. And finally, Johnson & Johnson says it expects President Trump's tariffs primarily on the company's medical technology products to add roughly $400 million to its costs this year. The healthcare giant's CEO said his company will work with the administration to prevent potential disruptions to its supply chain, but he said the best way to increase the supply of U.S.-made MedTech and pharmaceuticals is through tax policy rather than tariffs. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Wednesday's Tech News Briefing podcast.
