<h1>Tech company to pay AU$55 million over pre-installation deals that restricted rival search engines and lessened competition</h1> A US-based technology company agreed to pay about AU$55 million (US$36 million) and faces court proceedings after the national competition regulator alleged anticompetitive agreements with the country's two largest telecommunications providers that, for roughly 15 months until March 2021, required Android phones to be pre-installed with only the company's search engine and excluded rivals in exchange for a share of advertising revenue. The company accepted the arrangements were likely to substantially lessen competition and signed a court-enforceable undertaking to remove certain pre-installation and default search restrictions.