Google Asia Pacific has admitted to engaging in anti-competitive conduct in Australia and now faces Federal Court proceedings initiated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The proceedings concern agreements reached with Telstra and Optus between December 2019 and March 2021, which required the two telcos to exclusively pre-install Google Search on Android devices sold to consumers. In exchange, the telcos received a share of advertising revenue generated through Google Search.
The ACCC alleges, and Google has admitted for the purposes of the court action, that these arrangements were likely to substantially lessen competition in the market for general search engine services in Australia. The “platform-wide provisions” within the revenue-sharing agreements effectively prevented Telstra and Optus from preloading or promoting rival search engines on Android handsets.
Google has co-operated with the ACCC’s investigation, admitted liability, and agreed to jointly propose to the Federal Court that it pay a $55 million penalty. The Court will decide whether this penalty and other proposed orders are appropriate. The ACCC is also seeking declarations of contravention and a contribution to its legal costs.
Court-Enforceable Undertakings
In addition to the penalty, Google and its parent company Google LLC have provided a court-enforceable undertaking to address broader competition concerns relating to pre-installation and default search restrictions in contracts with Australian phone manufacturers and telcos dating back to 2017.
Under this undertaking, Google commits to removing contractual provisions that prevent competing search engines from being pre-installed or set as default options on Android devices.
This follows similar undertakings accepted last year from Telstra, Optus, and TPG, which prevent the telcos from entering into exclusive agreements with Google regarding pre-installed or default search services.
ACCC Statement
“Conduct that restricts competition is illegal in Australia because it usually means less choice, higher costs or worse service for consumers,” said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb. “Today’s outcome, along with Telstra, Optus and TPG’s undertakings, has created the potential for millions of Australians to have greater search choice in the future, and for competing search providers to gain meaningful exposure to Australian consumers.”
Cass-Gottlieb added that these developments come at a pivotal time as AI-driven search tools transform how users access information, introducing new competition into the market.
Background
The case stems from the ACCC’s long-running Digital Platform Services Inquiry, which raised concerns about Google’s contractual arrangements and search defaults. In its reports, the ACCC has recommended a new regulatory framework, including mandatory service-specific codes for designated digital platforms to prevent anti-competitive conduct.
Google Asia Pacific, which serves as the contracting counterparty for revenue-sharing agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, is the respondent in the proceedings. The ACCC’s originating application, filed in the Federal Court’s Victoria Registry on 18 August 2025, seeks declarations of contravention under section 45(1)(a) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), penalties, and costs.
The Court has yet to set a hearing date.
