An exclusive interview with Korea Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong

South Korea has been at the forefront of digital-platform regulation for many years now

The trade confrontation between the US and China is reverberating in Japan

After building global supply chains over the past several decades, many Japanese companies are now reviewing and realigning them, as new trade restrictions pop up amid rising tensions between the US and China.

Video-sharing app TikTok’s potential sale or divestment in the US could face a series of legal hurdles in China

Market-dominance abuse dispute between Japanese Hitachi Metals and four Chinese magnetic-product manufacturers

Big Tech companies have an edge over startups and new players because of the vast troves of user data at their disposal.

Korean Air Lines’ bid to take over its closest rival Asiana is the airline merger to test the European Commission

The Year of the Rabbit will play out against an interesting background for Chinese antitrust policy and enforcement.

One thing that Southeast Asian jurisdictions have in common is the rapid pace of regulatory developments.

There is no clarity on when the new head of the Indian antitrust authority will be appointed.

Japan's chief antitrust enforcer lays out his vision in an exclusive MLex interview.

Japan’s top antitrust official, Kazuyuki Furuya, has a lot on his plate.

This report examines the impact of regulatory changes in Asia-Pacific on tech giants.

Asia has become a laboratory for new and at times controversial methods of bringing recalcitrant platforms to heel

JFTC helping smaller companies pass on increased costs to their larger trading partners, and ultimately, to consumers

Japan Fair Trade Commission has played the central role, with the courts trailing behind in alignment

JFTC Chairman Furuya dismissed as “nonsense” claims that the JFTC’s enforcement endeavors against Big Tech have been sidelined

Stricter export controls imposed by the US are likely to have a very real impact on China’s semiconductor industry

China’s semiconductor industry is grappling with the implications of stricter export controls imposed by the US

Is China in coming years committed to a robust antitrust regime

Indonesia’s ambitious data-protection legislation, which borrows heavily from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation

After years of incremental developments in Southeast Asia's data-privacy landscape, things now appear to be changing — fast

Data privacy isn’t a new concept in Indonesia, with data-protection policies already in place covering 30 different rules and regulations

Chinese auto companies should sharpen their antitrust tools ahead of future industry-wide essential-patent disputes

Malaysia’s former prime minister to jail, followed by the conviction of his wife just a week later

India’s increasingly assertive financial crime-fighting agency received a shot in the arm

EU will view any legacy of anti-virus technology through the prism of the tight standards set by its GDPR

US lawmakers have sprung into action, with a potentially game-changing bill springing forward in Congress

Japanese automakers are under increasing pressure to pay for standard essential patents, or SEPs, for connected cars

Japanese court verdict on restaurant-review platform’s interference with its search-engine algorithm to alter its ranking results

Logic of leniency rules is rock-solid in the eyes of enforcers: Deals promising lighter sentencing can coax cartelists out

Investigating cartels without the aid of leniency applicants is like “searching in the dark,” Malaysia’s antitrust chief

e South Korean privacy regulator began to promote the CBPR certification to the country's businesses

A European court’s decision is being seen as a watershed moment for antitrust enforcement in the EU

Broadcom’s $61 billion buyout of cloud giant VMware posing new challenges for regulators on both sides of the Atlantic

The growing use of smart speakers and TV sets has prompted a conversation about privacy

A long-awaited circular on admin fines is set to encourage stricter compliance with the Philippines data privacy law

Japanese stakeholders have mostly welcomed the industry ministry’s recent guidelines on licensing negotiations for essential technologies

Chinese courts using anti-suit injunctions against lawsuits in disputes over standard essential patents, or SEPs

South Korean privacy chief Yoon Jong-in talks to MLex about his young agency’s key priorities and challenges

Elon Musk’s 44-billion-US-dollar bid for social-media platform Twitter has fired up a conversation about freedom of speech

Yoon Jong-in, chairman of the South Korea's new privacy watchdog, describes his experiences building the agency from scratch

Japan published negotiation guidelines between the holders and users of standard essential patents.

SAMR, is investigating cellular patent licensing practices in the country over antitrust concerns and has sent questionnaires to several foreign companies

EU has been tightening its grip on imports benefiting from cross-border subsidies that China uses to expand its clout

An pair of major providers of global Internet backbone services announced they had discontinued services to Russia

Economic headwinds are prompting Chinese leaders to orchestrate an all-out effort to shore up growth in the world's second-largest economy

Antitrust enforcement in Japan is beset with challenges, including a cultural tendency to seek error-free enforcement

The collection and storage of biometric data is now occurring on an industrial scale in the United States.

Singapore’s antitrust regulator continues to navigate the changing economic landscape due to the pandemic.

Meta’s acquisition of Giphy, the database of looped videos known as gifs, has run into trouble in the United Kingdom.

China's largest ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing may offer a lesson to Chinese data-sensitive companies currently listed in the US.

Amazon has taken on Visa and warned that it will stop taking payments from customers using Visa credit card issued in the UK.

Apple and Google’s stranglehold on in-app payment services was targeted by world-first legislation in South Korea

Google’s clash with South Korea’s antitrust enforcer over allegations the search giant engaged in abuse of dominance

The South Korean competition regulator's decision to fine Google for abuse of dominance in the Android OS market

US chipmaker Nvidia’s move to buy Arm, a UK chip designer, for $40 billion is facing regulatory headwinds

The rapid development of the smart-vehicle industry could cause significant security risks if regulation fails to catch up

Chinese regulators jointly unveiled interim regulations today to step up the supervision of auto data processing

The woes of ride-hailing app Didi have ushered in a new chapter in Beijing’s crackdown on the tech sector.

China's crackdown on the tech sector has come as a shock to many observers, not just for the scope of the actions.

Digital advertising is back on the agenda in Europe, with the announcement of a fresh EU antitrust probe.

Gone are the days in when no one was held accountable for anything in the digital-advertising market.

Singapore companies are scrambling to gather and report data on who ultimately owns and controls their companies.

“Fish for finance” may sound like a trendy eatery in London’s West End, but it is simply the latest round of post-Brexit animosity.

In Jakarta, almost 1,300 employees of Indonesia’s anticorruption agency are being inaugurated as official members of the civil service.

Philippines AMLC will consider taking action against companies and individuals that have filed inadequate STRs.

Like a good murder novel, the demise of ABLV Bank of Latvia has left us with a chalk silhouette on the sidewalk.

KPMG is in settlement negotiations with the Malaysian government over work it did for the scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB.

South Korea's Daewoo E&C has sought to avoid any blame after two of its employees pleaded guilty to bribery charges.

Indonesia’s anti-graft activists managed to get a key amendment to the corruption law canceled by the Constitutional Court.

China demonstrated to some of the country’s largest technology players, antitrust oversight isn’t limited to the SAMR

China has proved to Big Tech that its antitrust-oversight capability isn't limited to the SAMR.

Companies supercharged by subsidies from foreign governments such as China and Russia will face probes.

Google’s United States Supreme Court copyright win against Oracle over the development of the Android operating system was a huge development.

On World Consumer Rights Day, China's CCTV features a show that includes undercover journalists expose malpractices by businesses related to lives of consumers.

A long-term, successful North Korean hacking heist targeting banks around the world has sparked a conversation about financial institutions’ readiness to take on cyberattacks.

Chip dealmakers from the US and elsewhere are likely to be bracing for new challenges in their global buying spree.

More than one year since allegations emerged that Chinese online gambling company 500.com had paid bribes in Japan.

Twist ties from China have been assigned a final US antisubsidy rate of 111.96 percent, with no offsetting for the devaluation of Chinese currency.

A landmark antitrust lawsuit targeting Google over its management of digital advertising services is underway in a Texas court.

China’s finance regulators are dealing with antitrust-enforcement issues after the country’s leaders pledged to prevent the expansion of capital in the economy.

A lawsuit targeting WhatsApp in India is set to proceed, with the messaging service’s decision to push back the deadline of a controversial privacy update.

Scatter Lab, the South Korean developer of Artificial Intelligence chatbot named Iruda, is the target of a new investigation by the South Korean privacy regulator.

Businesses in South Korea should significantly step up reviews of their data-collection and management practices.

Just a few months into the job, Singapore’s antitrust chief had to quickly adjust to changing realities amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This MLex special report features an exclusive interview with Sia Aik Kor, head of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore.

Brent Snyder says his over three years as Hong Kong’s top antitrust official have left him with fond memories.

A recent competition hearing involving South Korea’s Internet giant Naver has raised an issue: reverse discrimination.

Hong Kong’s securities regulator was keen to emphasize today that its $350 million fine against Goldman Sachs — the largest fine in the city’s history.

After the Philippine privacy regulator issued another harsh warning against privacy violations, members of a data protection group began raising questions.

Singapore’s recently published e-commerce market study may have found no current competition issues to worry about in the sector.

US graphics-chip maker Nvidia is facing strong initial headwinds in China over its planned acquisition of UK peer Arm.

India has broken new ground with a proposal on how to regulate non-personal data.

Two recent developments in Japan are likely to have a significant impact on the country’s regulatory landscape.

The new head of Japan’s antitrust regulator vowed to chase after digital businesses as needed.

Not many bosses of government agencies find the time to write a book while doing their day job.

Google has found itself at the center of antitrust scrutiny and growing complaints by local app developers in South Korea.

The outgoing head of Japan’s competition authority called on Japanese companies to more assertively use antitrust laws to their advantage.

The Z Holdings and LINE merger was conditionally approved in a move that demonstrated the Japanese regulator's willingness to take a new approach.

Recent rulings against Chinese social media platforms TikTok and WeChat for their data-processing practices is sending an encouraging signal to users.

Global tech & social media companies are in for a bumpy ride after many of them suspended their cooperation with data requests from Hong Kong authorities.

Private lawsuits are likely to become more frequent as China enters a new era of civil law with an expanded definition of one’s rights to the protection of personal data.

Chinese companies acquiring control or at least 35 percent of shares in EU companies might face a new bloc-level review.

Companies backed by significant Chinese subsidies could be subject to a new kind of EU investigation that would correct distortions & restrict behavior inside Europe's internal market.

Legislation on protection of privacy and personal data remains at the top of the agenda for members of a key Chinese policy advisory board.

US tech giants such as Facebook are growing increasingly concerned about elements of India’s proposed data-protection law, complaining that it would trigger privacy issues for non-Indians & unreasonably restrict unfettered Internet access to teenagers approaching age 18.

Chinese local authorities will have to scrutinize standards that they have imposed on businesses such as those relating to market exit & government funding, as part of a nationwide campaign.

China's antitrust regulator doesn't consider the economic hardship brought by the Covid-19 as a legitimate mitigating factor to reduce fines.

This week’s announcement that Facebook had secured nearly 10% of Reliance Jio, India’s largest Internet provider, was light on detail & revealed little about the partnership.

Regulatory overlap and turf wars in S Korea, from a request to the Korea Fair Trade Commission to refer McDonald’s Korea for franchise law and subcontracting allegations.

US DOJ says a former exec of Continental Automotive Korea was extradited to the US and pleaded guilty for his role in a global auto-parts cartel.

It’s been a hundred days since Indonesia’s new team of anti-graft leaders took the helm of the respected anti-corruption agency amid a cloud of controversy, yet it appears to have done little to assuage fears that the commission would not weaken under them.

Questions have been raised and discussed in various webinars and online conferences organized separately by antitrust regulators in Asia.

South Korean companies targeting the US market are likely to feel the regulatory tremors created by the new privacy law in California, especially those in the gaming and IT industries, sectors where the US market is perhaps the most lucrative.

Recent changes to South Korea's anti-corruption regime that introduce tougher penalties and wire-tapping powers in foreign bribery cases are a welcome move and come in response to OECD recommendations.

Seven executives of various pharmaceutical companies and distributors, including an executive of the local branch of French pharma giant Sanofi, have been arrested by the South Korean prosecutors' office as part of its first independent antitrust probe, which is targeting bid-rigging schemes in public tenders for vaccines and is likely to expand to cover more major South Korean and global pharmaceutical companies, MLex has learned.

TikTok, a video-sharing app service run by ByteDance, is expected to receive a request soon from the South Korean communications regulator for information about how the service handles personal information of South Korean users as part of an ongoing probe into the service's personal-information management, MLex has learned.

Data referred to as "important" under China's data-protection regime, which is subject to scrutiny before being exported, is evaluated against its importance to the country, not its importance to businesses or individuals, a Chinese cybersecurity official said.

China's approach to a couple of US-linked transactions in 2020 is set to answer some persistent questions on the country's merger control.

Global online media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter should be required to reveal information on users that engage in “doxxing” if provided with evidence of their behavior by authorities, Hong Kong’s data protection authority has suggested as it seeks to revamp local laws.

Several executives of South Korean pharmaceutical companies have been arrested by the country’s prosecutors’ office in its first independent antitrust probe since the inauguration of the new prosecutor-general, with investigators suspecting collusive schemes on public tenders among dozens of vaccine producers and distributors covering a wide swathe of the South Korean vaccine market.

Japanese vendors at the nation’s largest online mall Rakuten have formed a union in an attempt to gain better negotiating power, breaking the tradition in Japan of docile business partners of large companies, as the competition regulator tightens scrutiny over abusive dealings by big digital platforms with smaller business partners.

Qualcomm’s loss in its appeal in South Korea may haunt the US chip giant’s global cellular chip business, with a Seoul court siding with the decision by the Korea Fair Trade Commission for the majority of its 2016 decision, including the relevant markets set by the regulator.

South Korea’s new top competition official speaks to MLex about the enforcement challenges ahead in an increasingly digital world.

A probe of German carmakers Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW by China's antitrust regulator over possible collusion in emissions controls was driven by a leniency application filed with the authority, MLex has learned.

South Korean Internet company Naver has been issued an examiners’ report on the antitrust investigation by the Korea Fair Trade Commission for alleged "self-preferencing" of its services in search results.

From entertainment to payment services, facial recognition technology is gaining popularity in China and has been adopted by both state law-enforcement agencies and commercial practices. Yet regulation of the technology’s serious security implications has been slow to catch up.

German conglomerate Siemens’ appeal against an antitrust case decision by South Korea's competition regulator will produce a verdict before the end of the year, MLex has learned.

Malaysia should adopt deferred prosecution agreements before enforcing its failure-to-prevent-bribery offense, the head of the country’s anticorruption agency has told MLex.

Latheefa Koya's life took a sudden twist when she was asked by Malaysia's prime minister to head up the country's anticorruption agency. After accepting the job — a call of duty she felt compelled to answer — she got her feet under the desk in June and is now just over four months into her two-year term.

The South Korean unit of French medical contrast agent manufacturer Guerbet is being investigated over an alleged refusal to sell the substance to South Korean drug suppliers, MLex has learned.

Ride-hailing firm Grab may have escaped Malaysian scrutiny over its controversial merger with rival Uber last year, but it is now facing the biggest antitrust fine yet in that country for alleged abuse of dominance practices.

Lion Air Group subsidiaries Malindo Air and Thai Lion Air have both suffered data breaches resulting in large amounts of customers' personal details being leaked online.

With uncharacteristic haste, Indonesia’s outgoing legislative assembly today approved in a plenary meeting a controversial bill that has been widely criticized for being aimed at weakening the country’s highly respected anticorruption agency.

Plans to overhaul the law that that governs Indonesia’s anti-graft agency risk breaching international anticorruption conventions, a senior OECD expert warned.

As Google faces a raft of probes in various jurisdictions, an industry player in China has lodged a complaint with the country's competition regulator, alleging anticompetitive behavior by the US tech giant, MLex has learned.

Going after Tencent Music Entertainment is a bold step for China's competition regulator, not only because it is the country's first antitrust probe involving a domestic tech giant, but also because the case is constructed on novel legal grounds that would extend the agency's regulatory expertise.

The way digital platforms handle consumer data will be scrutinized in the future under the Japanese antitrust law, the competition regulator said today in a draft proposal. By expanding the reach of the antitrust law’s provisions on the abuse of superior bargaining position to business-to-consumer transactions for the first time, the Japan Fair Trade Commission is preparing to enter new territory where competition and data-protection issues merge.

Top music labels Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group have been questioned by China's antitrust regulator over potentially anticompetitive exclusive-licensing agreements with Chinese music streaming service Tencent Music Entertainment, MLex has learned.

Qualcomm’s fight to reverse massive fines and business-model-changing corrective orders imposed by South Korean competition regulator is nearing its end. The US chipmaker and the Korea Fair Trade Commission are due to present their final arguments on August 12 and 14 after an intense showdown lasting from October 2018 until two months ago.

US chipmaker Nvidia's notification of its planned $6.9 billion takeover of Israeli peer Mellanox was still awaiting formal acceptance by China's competition regulator, MLex has learned.

Follow China’s efforts to regulate the online world through the evolution of the Cybersecurity Law.

Just over a year since Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was elected to office on an anticorruption platform, reforms are well under way. His government has created the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre, or GIACC, which has been tasked with recommending and implementing nationwide anticorruption policies and monitoring all anti-graft agencies.

Calls for the establishment of a digital regulator to monitor Facebook and Google’s use of algorithms in ranking online content are expected to feature prominently in the final report on Australia’s world-first inquiry into the impact of digital platforms on the advertising and news industries.

The application of 5G technology in sectors other than telecommunications won’t result in regulatory issues being beyond the purview of Hong Kong’s communications watchdog, its chairwoman says.

The burden of proving an antitrust violation beyond reasonable doubt before a court is weighty, but not impossible for Hong Kong’s Competition Commission, its chief says.

US chipmaker Nvidia's planned $6.9 billion takeover of Israeli peer Mellanox is expected to go through an ordinary merger review procedure by China's competition regulator, as opposed to a fast-track process, MLex has learned.

Universal Music Group, one of the world's biggest music labels, is cooperating fully with China's competition regulator in an investigation of the country's online music-licensing market, MLex has learned.

Japan’s competition authority, which is in the midst of two studies into digital platforms such as Amazon, Apple and Google, is open to the idea that these markets “may require a new antitrust approach,” a commissioner said.

China’s competition authority will adopt a “tolerant and prudent” approach toward the digital economy in a bid to encourage innovation, making clear its enforcement strategy toward the country’s growing technology sector, its top antitrust official said today.

This year’s proxy voting season was supposed to be a watershed for South Korean corporate governance, with 11 companies targeted for activism, versus just two in 2018. But with Elliott rejected by Hyundai Motor shareholders and KCGI, Korea’s biggest activist fund, blocked from submitting proposals at next week’s Hanjin KAL vote, it appears activism in Korea will only advance at a pace dictated by Korea’s financial establishment.

Last week, Japanese competition regulators revoked a previous finding that Qualcomm had violated the country’s Antimonopoly Act, handing a much-needed victory to the US chipmaker that has come under antitrust scrutiny around the world.

Much about a proposed data privacy law for India drafted by government-appointed experts is still unclear, causing legal uncertainty on top of concerns about the prospect of hefty fines and prison sentences for violations, an executive at Intel said today.

China's top court has become the latest body to find itself tested by the highly complex competition issues surrounding Internet-based and tech businesses, MLex has learned.

Companies operating in China have so far largely avoided criminal liability for data-related security breaches, despite a deepening police crackdown on such lapses, but the risks associated with data crimes cannot be entirely overlooked, as companies are expected to boost compliance in face of enhanced regulation.

As antitrust rulemaking in Japan’s data economy increasingly takes on protectionist overtones in the form of measures targeting foreign Internet giants, the debate on revising competition laws and guidelines is being co-opted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, diminishing the role played by the traditional gatekeepers of competition policy. At issue is who will ultimately make the rules — the Japan Fair Trade Commission or an expert group convened by the prime minister?

Apple Korea’s lawsuit against South Korea’s antitrust regulator over its alleged failure to reveal information related to an investigation into abuse of market dominance against the US smartphone maker has been sent to the country’s Supreme Court, MLex has learned.

Listen in as MLex experts discuss a recent Japan Fair Trade Commission report on the competition issues surrounding Big Data.

Listen to MLex Senior Correspondent Toh Han Shih talk with MLex's Editor in Chief Robert McLeod about 1MDB in a new MLex podcast.

Listen to the latest MLex podcast in Japanese.

General Motors and its affiliates have settled a lawsuit for abuse of market dominance brought by an automotive after-sales service company in Shenzhen, in which the US carmaker was accused of refusing to license its essential technical information on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, or Frand, basis. The plaintiff claimed compensation of 98 million yuan ($14.2 million), MLex has learned.

Public evidence from the World Bank contradicts claims by Malaysian minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan that China Communications Construction Co, or CCCC, has not been debarred by the multilateral lender, as concerns grow that the Chinese state-owned firm is the prime contractor for Malaysia’s 55 billion ringgit ($12.3 billion) East Coast Rail Link.