Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Canada's competition watchdog filed a lawsuit against Google on Thursday, accusing the U.S. Internet giant of having abused its dominance in the advertising technology space to maintain its market superiority.
In the filing with the Competition Tribunal, the Competition Bureau alleged that Google used its position as the largest provider of web advertising technology in Canada to stifle competition, preventing other technologies from threatening its business.
"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," Matthew Boswell, commissioner of the bureau, said 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."
According to the Competition Bureau, Google owns four of the largest online advertising technology services used in the Great White North, holding a 90% market share in publisher ad servers, which manage ad inventory and online advertising.