Google has agreed to pay a $36 million fine for signing anticompetitive deals with two Australian telcos, Telstra and Optus. The US tech giant will pay the penalty after admitting that its agreements likely reduced competition among search engines on Android phones sold to customers.
Under the agreements, Telstra and Optus only pre-installed Google Search on Android phones, while other search engines were excluded. In return, the telcos received a share of Google’s advertisement revenue from those customers.
As part of a court-enforceable undertaking, Google has agreed to remove certain restrictions on its contracts with Android phone manufacturers and telcos. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission welcomed these changes, saying they came at a time when artificial intelligence search tools were creating new competition.
The fine is related to an ongoing case in which the ACCC alleged that Google’s agreements with Telstra and Optus breached Australian competition law. Last year, other Australian telecom companies agreed to similar undertakings with the commission, promising not to renew or make similar deals with Google to limit search options.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/google-pay-36m-fine-anticompetitive-deals-australias-largest-124734578