Alphabet-owned Google admitted to reaching anti-competitive agreements with Telstra and Optus between December 2019 and March 2021, which required the two telcos to only pre-install Google Search on Android phones they sold.
In return, Telstra and Optus received a portion of the accrued revenue Google generated from the ads displayed to consumers when they utilised Google search.
According to the ACCC, Google conceded
that these mutually beneficial agreements were likely to substantially affect rival search engines.
The tech giant has acknowledged liability. In cooperation uzbekistan cell phone database with the ACCC, it will submit to the court that it has agreed to pay a $55 million fine for its misconduct. The court will then determine whether the penalty is appropriate.
Efforts to increase market competition
As of August 2024, Google maintains its position as the dominant search engine, with a market share of nearly 94 percent in Australia.
The ACCC’s Digital Platforms Branch conducted a five-year inquiry into markets for the supply of digital platform services in Australia and their impacts on competition and consumers.
In the inquiry’s fifth report (published in 2022), the ACCC recommended a new regulatory regime to promote competition in digital platform services.
The latest action by the ACCC against Google marks its efforts to limit market monopolies and bolster competition in the digital economy.
Optus and Telstra’s history of ACCC breaches
The consumer watchdog has previously instituted various proceedings against Telstra and Optus for making false or misleading representations that have adversely affected consumers.
In recent times, Optus and Telstra have also been individually embroiled in various controversies with the ACCC.
Most notably, in June, Optus admitted to engaging in unconscionable conduct and was ordered to pay a whopping $100 million penalty for selling phones and contracts to vulnerable customers who did not want or need them.
Earlier this year, Telstra was found to have misled nearly 9000 Belong customers over broadband speed claims. The Federal Court is yet to determine the penalty it will impose on the telco.
Extending a rocky period for Google in Australia
The latest update about Google comes days after Fortnite maker Epic Games won a partial victory in Australia’s Federal Court against Apple and Google over their prevention of rival application stores in their operating systems last week.
In 2020, Fortnite was booted from Google and Apple app stores after Epic Games provided its own in-app payment system, which bypassed the one used by the tech platforms and avoided the fees they accrued through in-app payments.
By limiting choice over app distribution and in-app payments on Android, Epic alleged that Apple and Google harmed app developers and consumers in Australia.
Google was found to be in breach of the Competition and Consumer Act by misusing its market power to limit competition.
Read more: Google misled Android users on location data collection, alleges ACCC