“Google’s near-total control of the ad tech stack is by design,” the Competition Bureau said in a statement. “Through a series of related and interdependent actions, Google has, in our view, unlawfully tied together its various ad tech products.”
The Canadian government’s Competition Bureau has filed a lawsuit accusing Google of engaging in predatory and anticompetitive practices.
According to The Associated Press, representatives for the Competition Bureau have since said that an investigation into Google found that the company “unlawfully” combined many of its advertising-technology tools to maintain its dominant market position.
“Google’s near-total control of the ad tech stack is by design,” the Competition Bureau said in a statement. “Through a series of related and interdependent actions, Google has, in our view, unlawfully tied together its various ad tech products.”
In a statement, the Bureau of Competition Policy—a Canadian law enforcement agency—said that Google’s alleged longstanding misconduct has all but ensured that it “would maintain and entrench its market power” by effectively “[locking] market participants into using its own ad tech tools, [preventing] rivals from being able to compete on the merits of their offering.”
The complaint will now be spearheaded by Canada’s Competition Tribunal, a “quasi-judicial body” that hears cases brought by the Bureau.
In its filing, the Competition Bureau is asking that Google be ordered to sell two ad-tech tools: publisher ad server DoubleClick for Publishers, and ad exchange AdX.
Attorneys for the Competition Bureau estimate that Google holds a 90% market share of publisher ad servers, and a 50% market share in ad exchanges. This dominance has purportedly discouraged many of Google’s potential rivals from innovating, introducing new products, or otherwise attempting to compete.
“Google has abused its dominant position in online advertising in Canada by engaging in conduct that locks market participants into using its own ad tech tools, excluding competitors, and distorting the competitive process,” said Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell.
Google, for its part, claims that Canada’s online advertising market is much more competitive than regulators seem to believe. The Associated Press reports that Dan Taylor, the company’s vice president of global ads, said that the Competition Bureau’s lawsuit “ignores the intense competition where ad buyers and ad sellers have plenty of choice.”
Outside of Canada, Google is continuing to face legal challenges in the United States.
The Department of Justice, for instance, has asked American federal courts to take the drastic step of formally breaking up Google. In court filings, the Justice Department said that dissolving Google would be the only way to prevent the company from continuing to stifle competition in the search engine market.
The agency’s plans for a break-up would include the sale of Google’s popular web browser, Google Chrome, and impose restrictions on the company’s ability to bundle its products on new Android devices.
Sources
Canada Accuses Google of Creating an Ad Tech Monopoly
Canada sues Google over alleged anticompetitive practices in online ads
Canada’s antitrust watchdog files lawsuit against Google over its ad business
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