Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
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Title: Google will pay Australia $36 million over anticompetitive search deal
with mobile carriers

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:09:56 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-will...

Google has agreed to pay a fine of $55 million AUD ($36 million USD) for
anticompetitive practices, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) announced. It stems from deals Google undertook with Australian
telecommunications companies Telstra and Optus to only pre-install Google
Search.

The key there is that these companies couldn't install any other search
engine. Telstra and Optus then got a share of Google's ad revenue from
customers using Google search on their respective Androids. Google admitted
these agreements were "likely to have had the effect of substantially
lessening competition." These deals were in place from December 2019 to March
2021.

"Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it
usually means less choice, higher costs or worse service for consumers," ACCC
Chair Gina-Cass Gottlieb said before turning the emphasis to AI.
"Importantly, these changes come at a time when AI search tools are
revolutionising how we search for information, creating new competition. With
AI search tools becoming increasingly available, consumers can experiment
with search services on their mobiles."

Unlike some past instances in which Google has defended itself against an
investigation or fine, the company is cooperating. It has admitted liability
and proposed the fine alongside the ACCC. A court will determine whether its
an apt punishment. Google has offered a range of search provider options to
EU Android users since 2020 ΓÇö after facing another antitrust ruling and a
Γé¼4.3 billion ($5 billion) fine.

Last year, Telstra and Optus came to agreements with the ACCC that they
wouldn't make similar arrangements with Google moving forward.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-
tech/google-will-pay-australia-36-million-over-anticompetitive-search-deal-
with-mobile-carriers-110956889.html?src=rss

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