Competition Bureau pushes back on Google in market abuse suit

The Competition Bureau pushed back on Google in its ongoing lawsuit over the tech giant’s advertising practices in Canada, accusing the company of seeking to mask its alleged anticompetitive conduct.

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In court documents filed Friday, Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell repeated the bureau’s previous allegations and said Google’s recent legal response describes an ad market that “ignores commercial reality.”

The filing comes after Google’s response in February, in which the company denied abusing its dominant position in the web advertising market and took issue with the bureau’s arguments.

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In its written response, Google disputed the bureau’s definition of the ad market, and said the financial penalty being sought is unconstitutional.

The Competition Bureau is suing Google over alleged anticompetitive conduct in its online advertising business. It wants Google to sell two of its services and pay a penalty.

The bureau has alleged that Google’s alleged abuse of its dominant position is discouraging competition, inhibiting innovation, inflating advertising costs and reducing publisher revenues. It said its investigation that dates back to at least 2021 found the company “unlawfully” tied together its ad tech tools to maintain market dominance.

The matter is being dealt with at the Competition Tribunal, a quasi-judicial body that hears cases brought forward by the competition commissioner about non-compliance with the Competition Act.

Google owns four of the largest online ad technology services used in Canada: DoubleClick for Publishers, AdX, Display & Video 360 and Google Ads. The bureau has estimated Google holds about 90 per cent market share in publisher ad servers, 70 per cent in advertiser networks, 60 per cent in demand-side platforms and 50 per cent in ad exchanges.

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The bureau wants Google to sell DoubleClick for Publishers and AdX, which Google objected to.

Google’s response in February argued that the bureau’s claim that the company unlawfully tied together its ad tech tools is false. It accused the bureau and its commissioner of violating its constitutional rights.

It also said that contrary to the bureau’s claim, Google “faces stiff competition” from companies like Microsoft, Meta and Amazon.

“Google’s share of the relevant market has declined over time while industry output has increased dramatically, quality of service has improved and prices associated with the ad tech services in question have remained stable or declined,” the company said.

In the latest filing, the bureau takes issue with Google’s market definition, saying it essentially fuses together separate markets while using “vague terms” to describe how it works.

It also says Google is erroneously treating all types of digital advertising, including banner ads and in-stream video ads, as substitutable.

“Google’s error in defining the relevant market flows through its entire Response and undermines its positions regarding dominance, anti-competitive conduct, and competitive harm,” the bureau argues.

It accuses Google of maintaining its dominance through a “systematic campaign” designed to entrench its market power and undermine competition, and argues the remedies it is seeking including the financial penalty are appropriate.

The bureau also says Google’s response is “replete with groundless ad hominem attacks” against the commissioner and the suit, and asks the tribunal to ignore these.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2025.

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