Canada sues Google alleging anti-competitive conduct in advertising
Al Jazeera
The antitrust watchdog wants Google to sell two ad tech tools and is seeking a penalty as well.
Canada’s Competition Bureau is suing Alphabet’s Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in online advertising, the antitrust watchdog has said.
The Competition Bureau, in a statement on Thursday, said it had filed an application with the Competition Tribunal seeking an order that, among other things, requires Google to sell two of its advertisement tech tools. It is also seeking a penalty from Google to promote compliance with Canada’s competition laws, the statement said.
Google said the complaint “ignores the intense competition where ad buyers and sellers have plenty of choice, and we look forward to making our 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,” Dan Taylor, vice president of Global Ads at Google, said in a statement.
The Competition Bureau opened an investigation in 2020 to probe whether the search engine giant had engaged in practices that harm competition in the online advertisements industry and expanded the probe to include Google’s advertising technology services earlier this year.
