Yahoo accuses Apple of anti-competitive practices

A little over a month ago, Apple was accused of anti-competitive practices involving the sale of iPhones in Japan. Now, the company is being investigated by the Japanese police again, as reported by the newspaper Nikkei.

THE Fair Trade Commission (something like the United States Trade Fair Trade Commission) and the Ministry of Industry of Japan began to receive reports from the Yahoolast year on issues related to its gaming platform Game Plus. The service, launched in July 2017, allows users to play without having to download any apps and has expanded well in the last year, with the presence of more than 52 developers (including Square Enix, distributor of the Final Fantasy game).

Just last year, Yahoo reduced its Game Plus budget and stopped promoting the service after the company "was forced to cut jobs after being pressed by Apple," according to the newspaper. Yahoo further claimed that it was looking to expand the platform to include business solutions, but FTC said it had no choice but to slow the service as Apple pressed the company.

Yahoo told several business partners that it was forced to reduce the pressure faced "behind the scenes" by Apple. The Japanese company trusts the American technology giant with part of its profits in the form of sales through the App Store.

Yahoo believes that Apple's shares correspond to anti-competitive practices and violate the anti-monopoly act that exists in the country. However, the FTC's investigation into the case appears to have stalled, since the SoftBank, Yahoo's largest shareholder, stepped in to act as a mediator. According to 9to5Mac, part of the revenue from Yahoo and SoftBank comes from the App Store, which makes the situation more complicated.

Although Apple has a specific leadership in Japan, with projects and executives part of the company's central command, it is strange to follow so many accusations and investigations in such a short time even more in the same country.

Is it just me who got the impression that this story is a little badly told? Anyway, we are going to follow the developments of the investigation and see what else comes out of this new accusation.