Consideration of App Store-Related Cases and New Legislations in the EU, the US and Japan

Currently, investigations, lawsuits, and the introduction of new legislation, including new legislative proposals for ex-ante regulations concerning app stores on digital platforms, are unfolding across various jurisdictions worldwide. In the EU, the European Commission investigated Apple’s app store. The Digital Markets Act—a comprehensive ex-ante regulation for digital platforms—came into effect on May 2, 2023, encompassing regulations specific to app stores. In the US, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Apple and Google, and a bill known as the Open App Markets Act, targeting app stores, was proposed on June 11, 2021. In Japan, the Fair Trade Commission conducted an inspection of Apple, and Apple and Google were designated as app store-operating companies under the Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms on April 1, 2021. Moreover, on June 16, 2023, the Digital Market Competition Council, established under the Cabinet, publicly released the Competition Assessment of the Mobile Ecosystem Final Report, signaling a shift toward the legislation of ex-ante regulations for app stores. This paper explores app store-related cases and new legislation (or proposed legislation) in Japan, the US, and Europe, with the aim of examining the interpretation of Japan’s Antimonopoly Act and identifying optimal approaches to new legislation.