Google has agreed to pay a penalty of Aus$55 million (US$36 million) after admitting to making exclusive arrangements that limited competition in Australia’s mobile search market.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the tech giant struck deals with telecom operators Telstra and Optus between December 2019 and March 2021, ensuring that only Google’s search engine came pre-installed on Android smartphones sold through the two companies.
In exchange, the carriers received a share of the advertising revenue generated from the default search service. The ACCC said this arrangement was “likely to have had the effect of substantially lessening competition.”
“Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it usually means less choice, higher costs or worse service for consumers,” ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb stressed in a statement on Monday.
The regulator confirmed that Google had cooperated with the investigation and accepted responsibility. The case has been taken to the Federal Court, which will decide whether the agreed fine and related orders are “appropriate.”
Google, meanwhile, said it was “pleased to have resolved the regulator’s concerns” and noted that such provisions had not been part of its contracts “for some time.” A spokesperson added, “We are committed to providing Android device makers more flexibility to preload browsers and search apps.”
The ACCC also revealed that Telstra and Optus signed court-enforceable undertakings last year, pledging not to enter new deals that would pre-install Google search as the default option on Android devices.