Categories: Politic

Competition Bureau sues Google

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Photo: Valérian Mazataud Archives Le Devoir The offices of the digital giant Google in Montreal, on Saint-Catherine Street

Benoit Valois-Nadeau

Published at 16:00 Updated at 17:01

  • Canada

Canada's Competition Bureau is taking the giant Google to court. The Bureau announced Thursday that it is taking legal action against the American company for “anti-competitive conduct” in the country's online advertising sector.

The order requires, among other things, that Google divest two of its advertising technology tools, namely its publisher ad server, DFP, and its ad exchange platform, AdX, in addition to forcing the company to pay a fine equal to “three times the value of the profit derived from Google’s anticompetitive practices or, if that amount cannot be reasonably determined, 3% of Google’s total gross revenues.”

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The Canadian Competition Bureau (CCB) believes that Google has “abused its dominant position by engaging in conduct designed to ensure the maintenance and consolidation of its market power.”

“Google’s conduct forces market participants to use its own ad tech tools, prevents rivals from being able to compete on the merits of their offerings, and distorts the competitive process,” the Bureau wrote in a statement sent to media outlets.

“We are bringing our case before the Tribunal to end this conduct and its harmful effects in Canada,” added Matthew Boswell, Commissioner of Competition.

Google, which is the largest provider of ad tech on the Internet, allegedly “unlawfully bundled its various ad tech tools to maintain its dominant market position” and “leveraged its position across these ad tech tools to distort auction dynamics” for online advertising inventory.

According to details provided by the Competition Bureau, Google allegedly gave its own tools preferential access to advertising inventory and sold its services at a loss in certain circumstances to disadvantage its rivals.

Google responds

The American company refutes the allegations of the Competition Bureau and says it is ready to defend its practices in court.

“Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher and advertiser partners in this highly competitive sector. The BCC’s complaint ignores the intense competition where buyers and sellers of advertising space are spoiled for choice, and we are prepared to litigate our case in court,” said Dan Taloy, vice president of global advertising at Google, in a written statement provided to The Duty.

Under the Competition Tribunal’s rules, a respondent generally has 45 days to file a response.

In 2016, the Competition Bureau ended an initial investigation into Google, which was suspected of violating the Competition Act in its online search and advertising services.

The Bureau returned to the fray with a new investigation in 2020, an investigation whose mandate was expanded twice by court orders, in October 2021 and February 2024.

Teilor Stone

Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116

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