Google admits anti-competitive conduct involving Google Search in Australia

Summary

The ACCC has today commenced Federal Court proceedings against Google Asia Pacific over anti-competitive understandings that Google admits it reached in the past with Telstra and Optus regarding the pre-installation of Google Search on Android mobile phones. Google has co-operated with the ACCC, admitted liability and agreed to jointly submit to the Court that Google should pay a total penalty of $55 million. It is a matter for the Court to determine whether the penalty and other orders are appropriate. The understandings, which were in place between December 2019 and March 2021, required Telstra and Optus to only pre-install Google Search on Android phones they sold to consumers, and not other search engines. In return, Telstra and Optus received a share of the revenue Google generated from ads displayed to consumers when they used Google Search on their Android phones. Google has admitted in reaching those understandings with each of Telstra and Optus it was likely to have had the effect of substantially lessening competition. Google and its US parent company, Google LLC, have also signed a court-enforceable undertaking which the ACCC has accepted to address the ACCC’s broader competition concerns relating to contractual arrangements between Google, Android phone manufacturers and Australian telcos since 2017. Google does not agree with all of the ACCC’s concerns but has acknowledged them and offered the undertaking to address these concerns. In the undertaking, Google commits to removing certain pre-installation and default search engine restrictions from its contracts with Android phone manufacturers and telcos. Google’s undertaking is in addition to court-enforceable undertakings provided by Telstra, Optus and TPG last year. The ACCC accepted these telco undertakings to resolve concerns about the telcos’ agreements with Google. The telcos are not parties to the proceedings commenced today. “Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it u...