Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Japan, South Korea and Australia are tightening rules to rein in the market power of Big Tech groups, posing fresh regulatory challenges for Apple and Google following a similar crackdown in the EU and the US.\u00a0The cabinet of Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida recently approved landmark legislation aimed at preventing the largest online platforms from using their dominance in mobile software to thwart the entry of new rivals.The rules \u2014 a narrower version of the EU\u2019s sweeping Digital Markets Act \u2014 seek to offer more choices for consumers, such as by making it easier to switch between mobile operating systems and allowing users to download apps from other sources.The move in Tokyo comes as officials in South Korea intend to introduce wide-ranging legislation to regulate online platforms, targeting ecommerce players to streaming services and social media providers. In Australia, watchdogs are pushing to widen the regime for online regulation into areas including digital payments.\u00a0Tech industry players said the spread of the regulatory scrutiny from Europe and the US to the biggest markets in Asia presents deeper troubles for the world\u2019s biggest technology companies.In the EU, legislation has forced Apple to change core parts of its closed mobile operating system, such as allowing users to download apps from other sources for the first time and changing the fee structure charged to developers. While in the US, the iPhone-maker has been hit by a sweeping antitrust case that alleges the Silicon Valley giant uses its power in the smartphone sector to quash rivals and limit consumer choice.\u201cIf you know there is a change in legislation and if that is just limited to Europe, you might try to fight it,\u201d one tech industry executive said. \u201cBut if you see that legislation that happened in Europe is happening in Japan, South Korea, Australia and the UK, at some point you\u2019ve learned your lesson and say why am I fighting?\u201d In Japan, legislation drafted by the country\u2019s Fair Trade Commission does not name specific companies but, rather, focuses on unravelling the duopoly held by Apple and Google owner Alphabet, as their iOS and Android software controls almost all of Japan\u2019s market for mobile operating systems.\u00a0\u201cConsidering the monopolistic circumstances with app stores, we want to realise an environment where the benefits of growth in the digital area can be enjoyed in a fair and equitable manner,\u201d Kazuyuki Furuya, the FTC\u2019s chair, said in late April.\u00a0In the face of heavy lobbying by Apple to block the bill, people familiar with the discussions said its scope is intentionally narrow in order to avoid delays to introducing the new rules, which are expected to be enacted from late next year if parliament passes the bill.\u00a0The law would allow Japanese regulators to hit companies with hefty fines that could amount to up to 20 per cent of domestic annual revenue if they are found guilty of non-compliance. For repeat infringements within a period of 10 years, the fine can be raised to 30 per cent of annual turnover.\u00a0Apple generated $24bn in revenue in Japan last year. The company declined to comment specifically on the Japanese legislation and other regulatory measures in Asia. It said it had limited changes to iOS \u201cto the European Union because we\u2019re concerned about their impacts on privacy and security of our users\u2019 experience\u201d.Google said it had \u201cproactive engaged\u201d with the government to explain its practices, adding \u201cwe will continue to collaborate with the government and industry stakeholders throughout this process\u201d. In previous discussions with Tokyo, Google has also argued that the fees it charges developers are necessary to ensure the safety and security measures for its mobile Play store.\u00a0While regulators worldwide are given larger enforcement powers, some industry players remain sceptical whether the rules being introduced globally would have the desired effect of opening up more competition in the digital marketplace.\u00a0Other people advising the industry in Tokyo also suggested the chances of Japan\u2019s FTC actually imposing the new fines was limited for now, since Big Tech groups are likely to negotiate closely with regulators ahead of the bill\u2019s enactment. Recent investigations by the FTC involving Apple and Google have often been resolved with the two companies presenting remedies.\u00a0In South Korea, regulators are struggling to enforce a 2021 telecommunications law designed to break Apple and Google\u2019s hold over in-app payments, by forcing the US tech giants to cut transaction fees and offer third-party payment options\u00a0The legislation, which was supported by a coalition of app developers including Tinder owner Match group, Spotify and Epic Games, was the first of its kind in the world.In October last year, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said it planned to fine Apple and Google for violations of the law after Korean mobile gaming developers accused them of continuing to levy fees in breach of the new rules. Both companies have denied the allegations.Wi Jong-hyun, professor of business at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, said it was hard for regulators to enforce the law because Korean companies tend not to disclose their contracts with the big US app stores.\u201cKorean app developers generally prefer not to file complaints against Apple and Google because they are afraid of potential reprisals,\u201d said Wi. \u201cThey have seen other apps forced off the app stores, and they know that once they have been kicked off it takes a long time to re-enter.\u201dApple said it has clear guidelines to help developers understand its rules, which are applied equally.Korean officials also intend to introduce a more broader legislation, which, like the EU\u2019s DMA, is expected to identify dominant online platforms that would be subjected to tougher scrutiny.\u00a0Practices being targeted by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) include the \u201cself-preferencing\u201d of a platform\u2019s own products, as well as restricting companies from selling goods elsewhere or more cheaply.\u201cWe will strengthen our scrutiny of the monopolistic abuse of platforms and their unfair trade practices,\u201d KFTC chair Han Ki-jeong told the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea in March.\u00a0Wi said the picture in South Korea is complicated by the fact that in many online sectors the most dominant players are not the US Big Tech firms, but local platforms including Naver, Kakao and the US-domiciled ecommerce market leader Coupang.\u201cSouth Korea can\u2019t be as tough as the EU because it also needs to protect its local players,\u201d Wi added, noting that Seoul was also sensitive to Washington\u2019s objections given discussions over subsidies and export controls in the all-important chip sector.Australia has also been a pioneer in tech regulation, introducing legislation to crack down on multinational tax avoidance, online safety and measures to push large digital companies to pay media companies to support the news industry.\u00a0In recent months, Canberra has moved to broaden its regulatory scrutiny into digital payments and enforce existing measures that are being resisted by technology businesses. As part of the effort, the government will introduce legislation this year imposing mandatory obligations on social media companies, banks and telecoms companies to tackle scammers.\u00a0Stephen Jones, minister for financial services, told the Financial Times that the Australian government\u2019s review of digital platforms is focused on digital scams, which he called the \u201cbiggest part of the problem\u201d. Among the proposals is that social media companies verify businesses advertising on their platforms.\u00a0Another area under review is digital payments, where banks are regulated but companies like Apple and Google offering similar services are not. \u201c[Big Tech companies are] not regulated and they\u2019ve got to be brought into the tent,\u201d said Jones.\u00a0Additional reporting by David Keohane in Tokyo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Japan, South Korea and Australia are tightening rules to rein in the market power of Big Tech groups, posing fresh regulatory challenges for Apple and Google following a similar crackdown in the EU and the US.\u00a0The cabinet of Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida recently<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-56325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-tech"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}