Google has admitted breaching Australian competition law and agreed to pay a A$55 million (US$35.8 million) penalty after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found the company struck exclusive search agreements with the country’s two largest telecom providers. Under deals in place from late-2019 to March 2021, Telstra and Optus received a share of advertising revenue in exchange for pre-installing Google Search as the sole search engine on new Android smartphones, blocking rival services. Google acknowledged the arrangements were likely to substantially lessen competition. The ACCC and Google have lodged a joint submission asking the Federal Court to impose the fine. The court will decide whether the penalty is appropriate, but the regulator said Google’s cooperation avoided prolonged litigation. Google said the contested contract clauses have been removed and it will give Android device makers more flexibility over default search options. The case extends a run of regulatory pressure on the company in Australia, following recent court actions over its app-store practices.