Japan plans to hike fines for anti-competitive actions by tech firms like Apple

Perhaps egged on by the success of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), Japan is considering raising the penalties it will impose on tech firms like Apple for anti-competitive actions from 6% to 20% of global revenue. Violations of the EU's DMA call for penalties of as much as 10% of a company's global revenue which, in Apple's case, could result in a stunning $38.3 billion fine. This gives tech companies in Europe quite an incentive to follow the DMA without taking even one stray step.

This past December, word got out that the Japanese Fair Trade Commission was working on regulations that would force Apple to allow sideloading on the iPhone in Japan. Apple has already started allowing iPhone users in the EU's 27 member countries to sideload apps from third-party app storefronts.

Apple has always maintained that it had blocked sideloading on iOS to prevent users from installing malware-laden apps on their iPhones. But many iPhone owners believe that if they are spending their own money to buy an iPhone, it is up to them-not Apple-to decide whether they should be allowed to take the risk and sideload apps on their iPhones.

Japan is also reportedly planning to follow the DMA by forcing companies like Apple to allow its customers to use alternative app storefronts and in-app payment platforms. This might also require Apple to allow third-party mobile payment platforms to secure a place inside the Apple Wallet app in Japan where it can be used for contactless payments. And the Commission is also believed to be looking to follow a DMA regulation that forces Apple to allow EU iPhone owners to use mobile browsers that do not use the WebKit browser engine created by Apple.

As if a fine equal to 20% of a company's global sales isn't high enough, firms that don't learn their lesson and become repeat offenders could face a fine by Japanese regulators totaling as much as 30% of global revenue. To put this in perspective, should Apple be hit by such a fine it would have to cough up nearly $115 billion.

According to AppleInsider, Japan's Fair Trade Commission plans to introduce the bill to parliament sometime during the next few weeks.