Google to Pay $36m Fine in Australia Over Android Search Deals
Google has agreed to pay a US$36 million fine after admitting to anti-competitive agreements with two major Australian telecom firms, Telstra and Optus. Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the deals, in place between December 2019 and March 2021, required the telecom companies to pre-install only Google’s search engine on Android devices. In return, both firms received a share of Google’s advertising revenue. The ACCC described the arrangements as harmful to competition, noting they reduced consumer choice and potentially led to higher costs and poorer service. “Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia,” said ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb. Google, which cooperated with the investigation, admitted the agreements were likely to have substantially lessened competition. The company said it was satisfied to have resolved the matter and stressed that such provisions were no longer part of its contracts. Both […]