The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from TPG as part of the ACCC's ongoing competition investigation into Google's search services in Australia, after recent undertakings accepted from Telstra and Optus.
During the investigation into Google's conduct, the ACCC became aware of agreements that Google had initiated and entered into with TPG since at least 2018 which meant Google's search services were pre-installed as the default search service on an exclusive basis on Android devices supplied by TPG.
"We are pleased that now all three mobile network operators in Australia have responded to the ACCC's competition concerns by offering these undertakings," ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
TPG has fully cooperated with the ACCC's investigation and has now undertaken it will not renew or enter into any new agreements with Google that require Google's search services to be pre-installed and set as the default search function on an exclusive basis on devices they supply.
The undertaking from TPG resolves the ACCC's concerns in relation to their involvement in the alleged anticompetitive conduct.
"In our view, this undertaking from TPG, following those recently accepted from Telstra and Optus, is another important step towards providing Australian consumers with more choice about the digital platforms and services they use, and to encourage more competition in these markets," Ms Carver said.
TPG, Telstra and Optus are each able to continue to offer Google's search services, and enter into agreements with Google to offer Google's search services, as long as any agreement complies with their undertaking to the ACCC.
The ACCC is continuing to investigate Google's conduct in entering into such agreements more broadly, and no further comment on the investigation will be made at this time.
A copy of the undertaking is available at TPG Telecom Limited.
Background
On 2 July 2024, the ACCC accepted similar undertakings from Telstra and Optus during its ongoing investigation into Google's search services.
In Australia, mobile devices represent the largest and fastest growing distribution channel for general search services, with 95 per cent of Australian adults having used a mobile phone to access the internet in 2023. Securing preinstallation and default rights to devices distributed in Australia 'out of the box' is a key distribution channel for a provider of a search service.
Google developed the Android operating system, and Google's agreements with the three mobile network operators in Australia limited the ability for rival search engines to be pre-installed and promoted on Android devices, in return for a share of Google's advertising revenue. These agreements expired on 30 June 2024.
The ACCC's ongoing competition investigation into Google's search services in Australia arose from the ACCC's consideration of competition and consumer issues in its Digital Platform Services Inquiry (DPSI). The third interim report of the Inquiry found that Google's search engine being pre-installed as a default search service on devices was contributing to it being the dominant search engine in Australia. The ACCC found there are strong consumer biases towards default settings.
On 5 August 2024, in a case considering these issues, a US judge found that Google is a monopolist in the US in markets for general search services and general search text ads and has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.
In its fifth interim report of the DPSI, submitted in September 2022, the ACCC recommended a range of new measures to address harms from digital platforms to Australian consumers, small businesses and competition. The report has also proposed mandatory codes of conduct for certain platforms and services to protect and promote competition.
On 8 December 2023, the Government provided in-principle support for all recommendations in the fifth interim report of the ACCC's Digital Platform Services Inquiry, which focused on regulatory reform. The United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and the European Union have already announced or implemented significant new competition and consumer regulations for digital platforms.
The ACCC will submit the inquiry's ninth interim report in September 2024 and its final report in March 2025.
On mobile devices, Google Search's market share in Australia has remained consistently around 98 per cent from September 2021 to July 2024, with other search engines, including Microsoft's Bing, only having a small presence.
