Japan’s competitors watchdog on Monday mentioned it’s investigating Alphabet-owned Google for alleged antitrust legislation violations with reference to its search practices on cell platforms, ramping up regulatory stress on the U.S. expertise large.

The Japan Honest Commerce Fee mentioned it’s analyzing whether or not Google made agreements with Android smartphone makers to share search ad-related income on the situation that the gadget producer doesn’t set up a rival search engine.

The regulator can be analyzing whether or not Google companies are prioritized on Android telephones.

The Japan FTC is asking for third-party opinions as a part of the probe to be submitted by Nov. 22.

In response, Google mentioned Android is an “open-source platform that has enabled a range” in companions and gadget producers.

“Its openness and adaptability make sure that customers at all times have a option to customise their gadgets to swimsuit their wants, together with the way in which they browse and search the web, or obtain apps,” a Google spokesperson advised CNBC by way of e-mail on Monday.

Google’s Android is the world’s largest cell working system, accounting for a roughly 80% market share of smartphones.

A few of Google’s enterprise practices with reference to Android have come below the scrutiny of regulators around the globe lately. In 2018, the European Union fined Google a document 4.34 billion euro ($4.6 billion) for abusing the dominance of Android. The EU mentioned Google unfairly favored its personal companies by forcing smartphone makers to pre-install Google apps Chrome and Search in a bundle with its app retailer, Google Play.

An EU court docket barely lowered that fantastic final 12 months after an attraction by Google, however broadly agreed with regulators’ findings.

In a trial that started final month, the U.S. Division of Justice alleged that Google violated anti-monopoly legislation by unique agreements with cell phone producers and browser makers to make its search engine the default for shoppers. This ongoing continuing is the most important tech antitrust trial in the usin a long time.

– CNBC’s Lauren Feiner contributed to this report.