Japan enacts law ensuring access to third-party apps

Hayashi said Japan would ‘improve the competitive environment’ for software such as app stores to ‘realise consumer choice, while also ensuring security’. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: Japan on June 12 enacted legislation to ensure tech giants like Google and Apple give access to third-party smartphone apps and payment systems on their platforms or risk major fines.

Similar to the European Union's new Digital Markets Act, the law mandates that they act fairly and make operating systems, browsers and search engines available for all.