Two IT companies in Osaka, which were investigated by the Japan Fair Trade Commission for obstructing the participation of competitors over bids on municipal websites, put together a plan to prevent recurrence and were certified by the Japan Fair Trade Commission on the 30th. received.
The plans to prevent recurrence were approved by the IT companies "SCINEX" and "Smart Value", both of which are headquartered in Osaka.
According to the Japan Fair Trade Commission, the two companies are open to the public and available free of charge over bids for website management systems ordered by municipalities that do not have specialized personnel, to give their own system an advantage. It was trying to prevent the participation of competitors by encouraging them not to use "open source software".
The Fair Trade Commission conducted an on-site inspection and investigation on suspicion of violating the Antimonopoly Act last November, and found that the two companies had contracts with about 110 local governments nationwide.
The two companies surveyed submitted a "commitment plan" that included voluntary improvement measures to prevent recurrence, such as regular training and audits, and the Fair Trade Commission approved this plan on the 30th. did.
SCINEX and Smart Value commented, "We will ensure that the certified plans are fulfilled."