Google has agreed to pay a fine of 55 million Australian dollars ($36 million) after Australia’s competition regulator found the company made deals with telcos that blocked rival search engines on smartphones. The Federal Court will now decide whether the proposed penalty is appropriate.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Google struck agreements with Telstra and Optus, the country’s two largest telecom operators, between late 2019 and early 2021. Under the deals, only Google Search was pre-installed on Android phones sold by the companies. In return, the telcos received a share of the advertising revenue earned from those searches.
According to the ACCC, the tech giant admitted that the arrangements were likely to have the effect of “substantially lessening competition.” The regulator said the agreements restricted choice for millions of Australians by excluding competing search engines from phones.
ACCC Chair Gina-Cass Gottlieb welcomed the outcome, saying: “Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it usually means less choice, higher costs or worse service for consumers. Importantly, these changes come at a time when AI search tools are revolutionising how we search for information, creating new competition.”
Google, in its statement, said, “We’re pleased to resolve the ACCC’s concerns, which involved provisions that haven’t been in our commercial agreements for some time.” The company added that it would continue giving device makers more flexibility to preload browsers and search apps.
Court-Enforceable Commitments
As part of the settlement, Google signed a binding undertaking to remove certain restrictions on pre-installation and default search engine settings from its contracts with Android phone makers and telcos. Telstra and Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications, had already pledged last year not to enter into such deals again.
Wider Legal Troubles for Google
The fine comes at a time when Google is facing mounting scrutiny in Australia and globally. Just last week, an Australian court largely sided with Epic Games in its lawsuit against Google and Apple, which accused the tech giants of blocking rival app stores on their platforms.
In April 2025, Japanese authorities also ordered Google not to pre-install its search engine on Android phones sold in the country. The Japan Fair Trade Commission said such deals hurt competition and issued a rare “cease and desist order” against the company. Google Japan called the decision “regrettable” and said it has invested heavily in Japan to promote innovation.
Advertisements
In July this year, Australia extended its ban on social media for users under 16 to include Google’s YouTube, reversing an earlier exemption.
Additionally, the company had to pay $28 million in the United States earlier this year to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging workplace discrimination….
Source link
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We blogs.grocliq.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on for any glitch kindly connect at [email protected]
