SYDNEY — Google has agreed to pay a hefty AU$55 million (US$36 million) penalty after admitting to “anti-competitive” deals that forced Android phones sold by Australian telecom giants Telstra and Optus to exclusively feature its search engine.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced Monday that it had filed proceedings in the Federal Court, jointly submitting with Google Asia Pacific that the tech giant should pay the fine. The court will now determine whether the proposed penalty and other orders are appropriate.
“Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it usually means less choice, higher costs or worse service for consumers,” said ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
Between December 2019 and March 2021, Google struck agreements with Telstra and Optus to pre-install only its search engine on Android devices. In return, both telecom firms received a share of advertising revenue, the watchdog revealed.
“Google has admitted in reaching those understandings with each of Telstra and Optus it was likely to have had the effect of substantially lessening competition,” the ACCC said.
The tech giant, however, stressed that such provisions had long been removed from its commercial agreements. “We are committed to providing Android device makers more flexibility to preload browsers and search apps,” a Google spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Telstra and Optus have already entered legally binding agreements with the ACCC, committing not to strike future deals making Google search the default on Android devices.
The penalty marks one of the largest competition-related fines imposed on a tech company in Australia, signaling regulators’ tougher stance against Big Tech’s dominance.
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