Competition Bureau’s legal action against Google puts major U.S. cases in ‘Canadian context’ [Video]

Canada’s Competition Bureau launched a legal fight against Google on Thursday, saying the tech giant has used its power in online advertising to hurt competition and harm Canadian businesses.

The bureau wants Google to sell off two of its advertising technology tools and pay penalties for what it calls anti-competitive behaviour in Canada’s digital advertising market.

The case targets how Google buys and sells online advertising — the ads that appear when people visit websites. Publishers rely on this ad revenue to stay in business, while advertisers use these systems to reach customers. The bureau says Google has too much control over this entire process.

Canada’s antitrust watchdog has built a strong case against Google’s advertising technology by learning from recent U.S. legal actions, said Jennifer Quaid, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s law faculty.

“The bureau has done a pretty good job. They go to a lot …