TORONTO — Canada’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday it is suing google It is suing the tech giant for alleged anti-competitive behavior in its online advertising business and wants the company to sell two of its ad tech services and pay a fine.
The Competition Bureau said the action is necessary because an investigation into Google found the company “unlawfully” tied to its ad technology tools to maintain its dominant market position.
The matter is now in the hands of the Competition Tribunal, a quasi-judicial body that hears cases brought by the Competition Commission regarding non-compliance with the Competition Act.
The office is asking the court to sell Google its publisher ad server, DoubleClick for Publishers, and its ad exchange, AdX. Google estimates that its market share is 90% in publisher ad servers, 70% in ad networks, 60% in demand-side platforms and 50% in ad exchanges.
That dominance, the bureau said, has eliminated competition from rivals, stifled innovation, inflated advertising costs and reduced publishers’ revenues.
“Google has abused its dominant position in online advertising in Canada by engaging in conduct that blocks market participants from using its advertising tools, excludes competitors and distorts the competitive process,” Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a statement.
Google, however, says that the online advertising market is a highly competitive sector.
Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global advertising, said in a statement that the office’s complaint “doesn’t ignore the intense competition that ad buyers and sellers have many options for.”
The statement added that Google intends to defend itself against the accusation.
US regulators want a federal judge break google to prevent the company from continuing to stifle competition through its main search engine after a court ruled that it maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade.
The proposed breach, contained in a 23-page document filed by the US Department of Justice this month, calls for tougher penalties that would include the sale of Google’s industry-leading Chrome web browser and restrictions to prevent Android from benefiting its search engine. .
