Canada watchdog sues Google over ‘anti-competitive’ ad tech [Video]

Canada’s competition watchdog announced Thursday it was taking Google to court, accusing the company of “anti-competitive behavior” in online advertising.

Ads are typically bought and sold through automated auctions and managed by businesses using ad tech — a system that also decides which online advertisements people see when they visit websites.

A Competition Bureau investigation found that Google is the largest provider of these tools in Canada.

Commissioner Matthew Boswell said in a statement it “has abused its dominant position… by engaging in conduct that locks market participants into using its own ad tech tools.”

The watchdog accused Google of giving its own tools preferential access to ad inventory, at times selling ads at a loss to block rivals, and dictating terms for the use of …