(Photo
by
Smith
Collection/Gado/Getty
Images)
As
Americans,
it’s
easy
to
limit
our
legal
horizon
to
what’s
going
on
in
our
country
—
hard
enough
to
keep
up
with
everything
as
is!
But
there
are
times
when
being
aware
of
legal
happenings
elsewhere
can
help
you
understand
the
changes
happening
on
the
home
turf.
Even
if
we
don’t
have
the
same
privacy
standards
as
Europeans,
the
GDPR
scramble
of
2018
shows
the
importance
of
foreign
laws
forcing
American
companies
to
kick
into
gear.
Another
foreign
legal
system
that
might
be
worth
keeping
an
eye
on?
Japan.
And
this
goes
double
if
you’re
working
in
Apple’s
antitrust
department.
From
Pymnts:
Japan
is
ramping
up
its
antitrust
regulations
in
a
bid
to
crack
down
on
monopolistic
practices
among
major
corporations,
taking
cues
from
recent
actions
by
the
European
Commission.
Following
the
EU’s
mandate
forcing
Apple
to
allow
third-party
app
stores
on
its
iOS
platform,
Japan
is
now
targeting
the
tech
giant,
signaling
a
broader
crackdown
on
possible
anticompetitive
behavior.Currently,
Japanese
law
penalizes
companies
found
guilty
of
monopolistic
practices
with
fines
up
to
6%
of
their
sales.
However,
policymakers
are
proposing
a
significant
increase
in
penalties,
with
the
new
framework
suggesting
fines
of
20%
of
sales
for
initial
violations,
and
reaching
up
to
30%
for
repeated
non-compliance.
20%
to
30%
fines
are
a
quick
way
to
get
companies
in
compliance
with
whatever
you’re
demanding.
If
Japan’s
effort
in
fighting
anticompetitive
players
is
successful,
we
may
see
the
advent
of
new
players
in
the
tech
sphere,
both
abroad
and
home.
Earlier:
DOJ
Hits
Apple
With
Antitrust
Lawsuit
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.