Canberra, December 2, 2025 — An Australian court has ordered Google Asia Pacific to pay AUD 55 million (approximately $36 million) in penalties after the Australian authority found that agreements with major telecom operators restricted search-engine choice on Android devices.
Conduct at Issue
Google reached understandings with Telstra and Optus that required the carriers to pre-install only Google Search on Android phones sold between December 2019 and March 2021. The arrangements, which included revenue-sharing based on search advertising, prevented other search tools from being pre-installed.
Google admitted the conduct and cooperated with the authority, which argued the arrangements had the likely effect of substantially lessening rivalry for search access on Android devices.
Broader Remedies
In August, Google and Google LLC offered a court-enforceable undertaking to remove pre-installation and default-search restrictions from their contracts with handset makers and telecom firms. Telstra, Optus, and TPG had previously provided their own undertakings not to enter exclusive pre-installation arrangements and to allow device-by-device configuration of search settings.
The authority said the combined measures open the possibility for millions of Australian users to see competing search tools — including those enhanced by AI — pre-installed on new Android phones.
The ruling follows a multi-year digital platforms inquiry that recommended new regulatory powers to curb practices such as exclusive default settings and pre-installation restrictions. Treasury has since consulted on introducing a new digital competition regime administered by the authority.
