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Australia’s Federal Court has ordered Google Asia Pacific to pay AUD55 million (USD36.1 million) after finding that the tech giant engaged in anti-competitive conduct through exclusive agreements with major mobile operators Telstra and Optus.
The ruling follows legal action initiated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which argued that Google struck deals requiring the telcos to exclusively pre-install Google Search on Android smartphones between December 2019 and March 2021.
In a significant development, Google admitted to the conduct and acknowledged that the agreements were “likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition”, according to the ACCC statement issued after the judgement.
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ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said the fine serves as a warning to companies considering similar strategies.
“Today’s outcome… should send a strong message to all businesses that there are serious and costly consequences for anti-competitive conduct.”
Mick Keogh, ACCC Deputy Chair
He added that Google’s commitments and undertakings by the telcos create potential for greater search engine choice for millions of Australians moving forward.
According to the ACCC, Telstra and Optus benefited from the exclusivity arrangements by earning a share of Google’s advertising revenue generated when consumers used Google Search on Android devices.
These deals, regulators argued, unfairly strengthened Google’s dominance in the search engine market while limiting consumer options.
Google has already pledged to remove pre-installation and default-search restrictions from future contracts with smartphone manufacturers and operators.
In 2024, Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom formally agreed they would not enter any new agreements with Google that enabled its search engine to be exclusively pre-installed or set as the default on devices sold to customers.
The ruling marks one of the heaviest penalties imposed in Australia for anti-competitive tech behaviour and underscores heightened global scrutiny of digital giants’ market dominance, particularly in relation to platform bundling, pre-installed apps, and default search agreements.
The ACCC says the case reinforces its broader efforts to maintain fair competition in digital markets and safeguard user choice.
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