Canada’s Competition Bureau announced legal action against Google on Thursday evening. The bureau is seeking an order that would require Google to sell two of its ad tech tools and pay a penalty to promote compliance with Canada’s Competition Act.
In a release from the Competition Bureau, it explained that an investigation in Google found that the company “abused its dominant position through conduct intended to ensure that it would maintain and entrench its market power” in web advertising. The bureau said that Google’s conduct locked people into using its own ad tech tools and distorted the competitive process.
Specifically, the bureau said Google unlawfully bundled various ad tech tools to maintain market dominance and leveraged its position to “distort auction dynamics,” such as by giving preferential treatment to its own tools, taking negative margins in some circumstances to put rivals at a disadvantage and by “dictating the terms on which its own publisher customers could transact with rival ad tech tools.”
In a statement to MobileSyrup, Google’s VP of global ads, Dan Taylor, said:
“Our advertising technology tools help websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers. Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher and advertiser partners in this highly competitive sector. The CCB’s complaint ignores the intense competition where ad buyers and sellers have plenty of choice and we look forward to making our case in court.”
The Competition Bureau filed an application with the Competition Tribunal seeking the order to force Google to sell two ad tech tools. The bureau noted that the final decision on the matter rests with the tribunal.
The bureau’s case against Google comes as the company faces an antitrust case from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ is also looking to break up parts of Google to address monopoly conduct in the web search market, with the department reportedly considering forcing the search giant to sell off its Chrome browser and possibly uncouple Android from its other products.
Update Nov. 29, 2024 at 12:07pm ET: Added a statement from Google.
Source: Competition Bureau
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