Japan watchdog to probe AI search engines over possible antitrust violations

The Japan Fair Trade Commission plans to conduct a fact-finding investigation into search engines that use generative artificial intelligence. It is expected to target companies such as Japanese tech giant LY Corp. and US firms Google and Microsoft.

Japan’s antitrust watchdog suspects that the unauthorized use of articles from news organizations by IT companies in the display of search results may constitute an abuse of their dominant position in violation of the antimonopoly law.

“The investigation is not intended as a crackdown, but rather to gain a better understanding of the situation,” an official from the commission stated.

The probe is to be conducted as an extension of the 2023 investigation

AI-powered search engines can understand questions asked in a conversational tone and respond accordingly. The AI generates summarized answers from data collected through the internet. The technology is regarded as more convenient than traditional search engines because it provides more direct answers.

However, the unauthorized use of articles from news organizations and other sources by tech companies in their responses has become a problem. News agencies generate revenue by displaying ads on their sites, so the spread of AI-generated news summaries could lead to a decline in that income.

Besides the search engines, conversational AI operators such as OpenAI, which runs ChatGPT, and Perplexity AI Inc., a US startup, are part of the problem. The decision comes amid a series of lawsuits and protests against Perplexity by Japanese news organizations over a conversational AI service. They claim copyright infringement and raise concerns that the system uses news articles without permission.

Two years ago, the watchdog published a report on contracts for the internet distribution of news by major IT companies. It warned that one-sided contract changes that significantly lower payments to news organizations for their articles are a violation of the antimonopoly law. To that end, the latest probe will be conducted as an extension of the 2023 investigation.

The EU and UK tighten their rules against US tech companies

Similar investigations have been launched overseas into AI search services. Earlier this month, the European Commission launched a formal antitrust investigation into Google’s use of publisher and YouTube content to train its generative AI systems, including AI Overviews and Gemini. 

The Commission is investigating whether Google’s scraping such content without appropriate compensation or an “opt-out” mechanism breaches EU competition rules. This follows a fine of approximately €2.95 billion imposed in September over anti-competitive practices in its adtech segment.

Google was able to overturn an old AdSense fine of €1.49 billion in late 2024, but that hasn’t stopped the flow of new claims. Recently, France’s Autorité de la concurrence confirmed a €250 million fine for violating intellectual property rights. Meanwhile, the UK’s CMA has temporarily granted Google’s advertising arm “Strategic Market Status” (SMS), which will enable stricter oversight in 2026.

Additionally, regulators have opened a new front. The EU began a trade investigation into Meta’s new WhatsApp rules at the beginning of the month, as reported by Cryptopolitan. The probe looks into whether Meta is blocking other AI providers from the WhatsApp Business Solution so that its own Meta AI assistant can be used instead.

Meanwhile, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) accused European regulators of pursuing a “persistent course of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives against US service providers.” The Trump administration says if these practices continue, the US is prepared to impose fees and restrictions on European companies operating in the American market.​

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