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Google admits anti-competitive conduct involving Google Search in Australia

6 days ago
https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/google-admits-anti-competitive-conduct-involving-google-search-in-australia
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  • #Competition
  • #ACCC
  • #Google
  • The ACCC has commenced Federal Court proceedings against Google Asia Pacific for anti-competitive understandings with Telstra and Optus regarding pre-installation of Google Search on Android phones.
  • Google admitted liability and agreed to a $55 million penalty, pending court approval.
  • The understandings (Dec 2019 - Mar 2021) required Telstra and Optus to exclusively pre-install Google Search on Android phones, in exchange for ad revenue share.
  • Google admitted these arrangements likely lessened competition.
  • Google and Google LLC signed a court-enforceable undertaking to remove pre-installation and default search engine restrictions in contracts with manufacturers and telcos.
  • Telstra, Optus, and TPG provided similar undertakings in 2024, allowing greater search choice and competition.
  • The ACCC emphasized the importance of competition, especially with emerging AI search tools.
  • The case follows an ACCC investigation from the Digital Platform Services Inquiry, which recommended regulatory changes to promote competition in digital services.
  • Google Asia Pacific admitted contraventions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) regarding revenue share agreements with Telstra and Optus.
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