Google has agreed to pay 55 million Australian dollars ($ 35.8m) in fines after the country’s consumer watchdog found it harmed competition by paying the country’s two largest telecommunications companies to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines.

The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia, where last week a court mostly ruled against it in a lawsuit brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games, accusing Google and Apple of preventing rival application stores in their operating systems.

Google’s YouTube was also added to an Australian ban on social media platforms last month admitting users aged under 16, reversing an earlier decision to exempt the video-sharing site.

On anti-competitive tie-ups with Australia

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