Canada’s antitrust regulator, Competition Bureau, has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the search engine giant of abusing its dominant position in the advertising sector. Operating under Alphabet, Google is alleged to have illegally tied its advertising services together and manipulated ad auctions to maintain its market dominance.
The case has been brought before Competition Tribunal, Canada’s specialized court for antitrust and competition law disputes. The regulator is seeking penalties to end Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices and to compensate for damages.
The lawsuit highlights Google’s 2007 acquisition of DFP and AdX, two key tools in the digital advertising ecosystem. As a dominant player, Google’s influence in ad delivery and programmatic advertising has raised significant competition concerns in the industry.
The Competition Bureau has called for the establishment of a fair competitive environment and is demanding that Google pay a fine equal to three times the profit it has gained through its practices. If this amount cannot be reasonably determined, the Bureau has requested a penalty amounting to 3% of Google’s global gross revenue.
In response, Dan Taylor, Google’s Vice President of Global Ads, told Bloomberg that the lawsuit ignores the “intense competition” in which ad buyers and sellers have numerous options. He confirmed that the company plans to defend itself in court.
While Google is already facing scrutiny from regulators in the European Union and the United States, this lawsuit in Canada adds to the growing global pressure on the company’s operations in the digital advertising sector.
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