Google Pays A$55 Million Fine Over Exclusive Search Deals With Telstra and Optus

Google has agreed to pay a A$55 million (US$35.8 million) penalty after Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission said the company hurt competition by paying the country’s two largest telecom operators, Telstra and Optus, to pre-install only Google Search on Android handsets. The regulator filed proceedings in the Federal Court, and Google admitted that the exclusivity arrangements, in place from December 2019 to March 2021, substantially lessened rival search engines’ ability to reach consumers. In return for the restriction, the telcos received a share of advertising revenue generated from searches on the devices they sold. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the outcome "creates the potential for millions of Australians to have greater search choice" while sparing the parties lengthy litigation. The court must still decide whether the jointly submitted penalty is appropriate. Google said the clauses at issue have already been removed from its contracts and that Android partners now have greater flexibility to preload alternative browsers and search apps. The settlement adds to Alphabet’s growing regulatory pressures in Australia, arriving a week after a court mostly ruled against the company in Epic Games’ antitrust case over mobile app stores.