Sydney – Google has agreed to pay a 55 million Australian dollar (€30.1 million) fine after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found the tech giant engaged in anticompetitive behavior. The ACCC accused Google of signing exclusive agreements with Australia’s two largest telecommunications companies, Telstra and Optus, that restricted competing search engines from being pre-installed on Android smartphones.
According to the ACCC, the agreements, which were in place for 15 months until March 2021, ensured that only Google Search was pre-installed on Android phones sold by the two telcos. In return, Telstra and Optus received a share of the advertising revenue generated by Google from those customers. Google has admitted that these deals were “likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition.”
The ACCC has commenced proceedings in the Australian Federal Court, which will determine if the agreed-upon penalty is appropriate. In addition to the fine, Google has signed a court-enforceable undertaking to remove these pre-installation and default search engine restrictions from its contracts with Android phone manufacturers and telcos in Australia.
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb stated that “Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it usually means less choice, higher costs or worse service for consumers.” She also noted that these changes are timely, as “AI search tools are revolutionising how we search for information, creating new competition.”
The ruling comes amid increasing global scrutiny of Google’s market dominance. Last year, Telstra, Optus, and their smaller rival TPG agreed to court-enforceable undertakings with the ACCC, promising not to renew or make similar deals with Google to limit search options. This latest action against Google underscores the ongoing efforts by regulators worldwide to address anticompetitive practices in the digital economy. (ATP)
