Canada’s antitrust watchdog sues Google

“Our advertising technology tools help websites and apps fund their content, and enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers,” said Dan Taylor, vice-president of global advertising.

This case centers on online web advertisements – the ads shown to users while visiting other websites.

Digital ad inventory – the space website publishers make available for sale – is often bought and sold through automated auctions using digital platforms.

These platforms are known as ad tech tools, while the entire set of tools used through the purchasing process are known as the ad tech stack.

According to the Competition Bureau, an investigation found that Google had “abused its dominant position” as the biggest ad tech stack in Canada.

“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,” the Competition Bureau said in its notice announcing the suit of Thursday.

“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 agency said it was asking the Competition Tribunal to force Google to sell two of its ad tech tools, and pay a fine of as much as 3% of the company’s global revenue “to promote compliance” with Canada’s competition laws.

Google has 45 days to file its response with the tribunal.

The case comes a week after the US justice department and a group of states demanded Google sells Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser – just one of a series of remedies meant to stop the tech giant from maintaining its monopoly in online search.