Seeking to compel Google (GOOG, Financials) to sell two of its advertising technology tools and pay a financial penalty, Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched an antitrust complaint against the internet behemoth.
Presented before the Competition Tribunal, the lawsuit charges Google of abusing its dominant position in the Canadian online advertising market. The Bureau claims that Google distorted the advertising market to its advantage, therefore limiting tactics of rivals from competing on the merits of their products.
Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell said “the Competition Bureau conducted an extensive investigation that found that 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.”
The Bureau’s lawsuit also claims Google “unlawfully tied its various ad tech tools together to maintain its market dominance” and “distorted auction dynamics” by providing its tools preferential access to ad inventory and mandating publisher agreements with competing tools.
Google, meanwhile, has countered that in the very competitive advertising technology sector, buyers and sellers have lots of options. Google stated during its trial with the U.S. Department of Justice over similar concerns that its ad-tech solutions are “cheaper, safer and more effective” and face competition from firms like Amazon (AMZN, Financials) and Microsoft (MSFT, Financials).
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.