The Competition Bureau is taking legal action against Google, following an investigation into anti-competitive conduct in the online advertising technology space in Canada.
The Bureau says its investigation found that Google abused its position as the largest provider across the ad tech stack for web advertising to ensure it could maintain and entrench its market power.
Google owns four of the largest online ad tech services used in Canada: DoubleClick for Publishers, AdX, Display & Video 360 and Google Ads. It holds an estimated market share of 90% in publisher ad servers, 70% in advertiser networks, 60% in demand-side platforms and 50% in ad exchanges.
The Bureau’s position is that Google unlawfully tied its various ad tech tools together to maintain its market dominance, distorted auction dynamics by giving its own tools preferential access to ad inventory, took negative margins in certain circumstances to disadvantage rivals, and dictated the terms on which its own publisher customers could transact with rival ad tech tools.
The Bureau says that anticompetitive conduct, allowed Google to entrench its dominance, prevent rivals from competing, inhibit innovation, inflate advertising costs and reduce publisher revenues.
“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,” said Matthew Boswell, Commissioner of Competition, in a statement. “Google’s conduct has prevented rivals from being able to compete on the merits of what they have to offer, to the detriment of Canadian advertisers, publishers and consumers. We are taking our case to the Tribunal to stop this conduct and its harmful effects in Canada.”
The Bureau’s application to the Competition Tribunal seeks an order that would require Google to sell two of its ad tech tools (its publisher ad server, DFP, and its ad exchange, AdX); direct Google to pay a penalty in compliance with the Competition Act; and prohibit the digital giant from continuing to engage in anticompetitive practices.
Google was previously investigated in 2016 for alleged anti-competitive conduct relating to online search, search advertising and display advertising.
