TOKYO: Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, approved a bill on Thursday to ban anticompetitive practices by technology giants over smartphone app stores and operating systems.

The measure is designed to help lower digital services fees by spurring competition.

The bill, after deliberations in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, is expected to be enacted during the current parliamentary session set to end next month.

The legislation calls for keeping tech giants such as Google and Apple from favoring their own services on smartphones and blocking app stores from rivals.

Offenders will face a fine equivalent to 20 percent of their revenue from an affected area in Japan, and a 30 percent fine will be imposed on repeat offenders.

Tech giants will be required to report on compliance every year.

JIJI Press