Exclusive default search engine deals: ACCC v Google Asia Pacific
Adrian Kuti, Amy Hayes, Alessandro Sobral and Darcy Bradley
Competition and Consumer Law News
Adrian Kuti, Amy Hayes, Alessandro Sobral and Darcy Bradley, ‘Exclusive default search engine deals: ACCC v Google Asia Pacific’ (2026) 41(2&3) CCLN 18
Introduction
“On 2 December 2025, the Federal Court declared in Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) v Google Asia Pacific [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) v Google Asia Pacific [2025] FCA 1554; BC202520295.] that Google Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (Google) contravened s 45(1)(a) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (the Act) by arriving at understandings with Telstra Ltd (Telstra) and Optus Mobile Pty Ltd (Optus) which contained provisions likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of general search engine services (GSE Services) in Australia.
Those understandings required Telstra and Optus, in short, to exclusively pre-install Google Search on Android phones supplied to consumers in Australia, thereby hindering competition from other search engines. In return, Telstra and Optus received a share of the revenue generated by Google from ads displayed to consumers using Google Search.
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