TPG has become the third mobile network provider to propose a court-enforceable undertaking and have it accepted as part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC’s) investigation into Google’s search services.

TPG follows in the footsteps of Telstra and Optus, whose court-enforceable undertakings were accepted by the ACCC earlier this year in July, resolving concerns of alleged anticompetitive conduct by three providers with Google.

The ACCC’s investigation into Google’s search services first arose out of the regulator’s ongoing Digital Platform Services Inquiry (DPSI), in which third interim report released in 2021 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… [and] there are strong consumer biases towards default settings”.

Approximately 95 per cent of Australian adults used a mobile phone to access the internet in 2023, which means search service providers are quick to secure preinstallation and default rights to devices such as the ‘out of the box’ approach. Google Search’s market share on Australian mobile devices has been around 98 per cent from September 2021 to July 2024.

As the developer of the Android operating system, Google had made agreements with the three mobile network providers in Australia to have its search system pre-installed and promoted on Android devices, in return for a portion of Google’s advertising revenue.

These agreements expired on 30 June 2024, and all three providers have now undertaken that they 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”, according to the ACCC.

“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.

“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.”

While the ACCC continues its investigation into Google’s conduct and agreements, TPG, Telstra and Optus are still able to offer the company’s search services and enter into new agreements as long as they comply with their court-enforceable undertakings.

The undertakings come after the ACCC’s fifth interim report released in 2022 recommended mandatory codes of conducts for platforms and services to promote competition, to be better aligned with the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and the European Union who have already implemented certain regulations.

A US judge also recently 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”.