Google has agreed to pay A$55 million ($35.8 million) in Australia after the consumer watchdog found the company had harmed competition by paying the country’s two largest telcos, Telstra and Optus, to pre-install its search app on Android phones, excluding rival search engines.
The deals, which ran from late 2019 to early 2021, involved sharing advertising revenue generated from Google Search on Android devices. Google admitted the arrangements substantially affected competition and has since stopped signing similar deals, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“Today’s outcome … created the potential for millions of Australians to have greater search choice in the future,” ACCC Chair Gina-Cass Gottlieb said. The fine is still subject to Federal Court approval, but cooperation between Google and the ACCC helped avoid lengthy litigation.
A Google spokesperson said the company was “pleased to resolve the ACCC’s concerns” and remains committed to giving Android device makers more flexibility to pre-load browsers and search apps while preserving features that support competition with Apple.
Telstra and Optus said they had fully cooperated with the ACCC and would not sign similar agreements with Google to pre-install its search product from 2024 onward.
