Canada Sues Google, Demands Ad Tech Sell-Off in New Antitrust Case

Canadian antitrust watchdog, the Competition Bureau has announced plans to sue Google for anti-competitive practices in digital advertising, the BBC has reported. Canada sues Google at a time when the Department of Justice in the US has proposed a raft of measures to a federal court to reduce the tech giant’s dominance in online search.

Allegations of Market Dominance

The Canada Competition Bureau has accused Google of linking two advertising tools illegally in order to maintain its dominance in the search market. In a statement released by the antitrust watchdog, Google allegedly used its market supremacy to influence ad auctions by prioritizing its own tools.

The Competition Bureau said its investigations found that being the largest ad tech stack in the country, Google had abused its market supremacy.

“Through a series of calculated decisions, taken over the course of multiple years, Google has excluded competitors and entrenched itself at the center of online advertising. Google’s near-total control of the ad-tech [software] is a function of premeditated design and conduct, rather than superior competitive performance or happenstance,” the Competition Watchdog said in its notice.

Push for Ad Tech Sell-Off

Canada’s Google antitrust case revolves around online advertisements. These are the ads displayed to users when they visit different websites. The case also touches on Google’s digital ad inventory. This is the space that website publishers avail for sale.

Ad inventories are purchased and sold via automated auctions on digital platforms. These platforms are referred to as ad tech tools. All the tools used in the ad buying process are known as ad tech stacks.

The Competition Bureau said it had filed a complaint with Canada’s court-like body, the Competition Tribunal. In its complaint, the Bureaus seeks to compel Google to sell off two of its ad technology tools. The competition regulator also wants the Tribunal to force the search giant to pay a fine equivalent to 3% of its global revenue to enhance its compliance with the country’s competition laws.

Google’s Response

Reacting to the move taken by the Google online ad monopoly lawsuit, Google said the complaint ignored the fierce competition environment that gives media buyers and sellers many choices. The search giant says it looks forward to arguing its case in court.

“Our advertising technology tools help websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers,” Google’s VP for Global Advertising, Dan Taylor said.

Google’s antitrust lawsuit in Canada comes just a week after the US Department of Justice recommended the sale of Chrome as one of the ways of reducing its online search dominance. Chrome is the most preferred web browser in the world. Google is also facing trial for its ad technology system in the US after the DoJ filed an antitrust case against the search giant. In this case, the DoJ claims that the technology causes harm to news publishers.

Google must file a formal response with the Canadian Competition Tribunal within 45 days.