Google Ordered to Pay $36.3 Million for Anti-Competitive Search Deals

Key Takeaways

• Penalty Imposed: Google must pay USD $36.3 million (AUD $55 million) for anti-competitive conduct involving exclusive Android search pre-installation deals.
• Restricted Competition: Agreements with Telstra and Optus required Google Search as the only pre-installed search engine on Android devices between 2019 and 2021.
• Revenue Sharing: The telcos received a portion of Google’s search advertising revenue, creating incentives that locked out competing search tools.
• Court-Enforceable Changes: Google and the telcos have committed to removing exclusivity restrictions, allowing other search providers to compete for pre-installation.
• Digital Market Enforcement Priority: The ruling underscores the ACCC’s focus on promoting competition in Australia’s digital economy as big tech dominance grows.

Deep Dive

Google has been ordered by Australia’s Federal Court to pay $36.3 million (AUD $55 million) after admitting that revenue-sharing deals with Telstra and Optus unfairly restricted competition in the mobile search market.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Google struck agreements between December 2019 and March 2021 requiring the two major telcos to pre-install Google Search, and only Google Search, on Android phones they sold to consumers. In exchange, Telstra and Optus received a portion of the advertising revenue generated when customers used Google Search on those handsets.

ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said the ruling is a reminder that exclusive deals designed to shut out rivals come with serious consequences.

“Our market economy is predicated on businesses competing freely with each other, which is why locking out competing businesses in a way that substantially lessens competition is illegal,” Keogh said.

A Shift Toward Greater Search Choice

Alongside the penalty, Google has provided a court-enforceable undertaking, as has its parent company in the United States, committing to remove pre-installation and default search restrictions from future Android distribution contracts.

Those commitments complement earlier undertakings from Telstra, Optus, and TPG, ensuring they are now free to pre-install other search engines or set different defaults on a device-by-device basis. Regulators say that could boost visibility for emerging tools, including AI-enhanced search alternatives, and expand consumer choice across millions of Android devices nationwide.

Keogh said the outcome sets an important precedent as technology continues evolving rapidly.

“It’s critical that competitors to Google can gain meaningful exposure to Australian consumers,” he said.

Part of a Broader Digital Competition Push

The case stems from the ACCC’s multi-year Digital Platform Services Inquiry, which warned that exclusive arrangements like these reinforce the dominance of large tech firms at the expense of innovation and fair pricing. Competition in digital markets, especially search and advertising, remains a top enforcement priority for the authority.

While Google maintains staggering market share in search, today’s ruling signals that regulators are prepared to intervene when gatekeeping practices limit the competitive landscape.

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