Letters: Beyond Inflight Meals
December 8, 2024Welcome to Letters from CAMP, a newsletter on anti-monopoly activity in Canada and abroad, brought to you by the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. In this installment we have:
Let's dive in.
Google, Groceries, and Gas Stations: Competition for Everyday CanadiansIn an op-ed for the National Post this week, CAMP Executive Director Keldon Bester put the Competition Bureau’s landmark case against Google in the context of a broader shift towards competition law that matters for everyday Canadians. As a reminder, the case alleges that Google abused its dominance in online advertising—a $15 billion market in Canada—by throwing sand into the gears of competition at the expense of the economic engine of the internet. Rather than an abstract or distant market, online advertising serves as not only an important gateway for businesses of all sizes to reach their potential customers, but also the lifeblood of the news organizations that support Canada’s democracy. Weakened competition in online advertising means businesses pay more to reach customers, publishers receive less for their ad space, and middlemen like Google pocket billions. But the Google case is even more important as an example of a new era of competition law enforcement of Canada. The last time the Bureau went to court to fight an abuse of dominance, it was attempting to protect competition for inflight meals out of the Vancouver airport. Compare that today, where in addition to the Google case the Bureau is investigating how big grocers prevent competitors from setting up shop, algorithmic price fixing between gas stations, and rules that inflate the commissions Canadians pay on the purchase of a home. In each case, anticompetitive conduct has the potential to harm Canadians across the country, not just those deciding between the chicken and the pasta on their flight from the west coast. Canadians and their elected representatives put their trust in the Competition Bureau when they decided to grant them stronger powers under Canada’s competition law. To reward that trust, this new era of enforcement must become the norm rather than the outlier. 📚 What We’re Reading 📚
Australia Proposes New Digital Competition RegimeFor years now, Australia has been a leader in diagnosing and addressing the harms of monopolies in digital markets like search, social media, and app stores. This week, Australia took another step forward in that work with the release of a proposal for a new digital competition policy framework aimed at reining in dominant tech platforms. The proposed framework takes the approach of designating certain platforms as “gatekeepers” and imposing obligations on them to ensure fair competition. This allows for differentiation of obligations between types of platforms. While ad tech providers may face rules to prevent self-preferencing, app store operators could be required to allow alternative payment systems. These measures draw from international models like the E.U.’s Digital Markets Act and the U.K.’s Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act, as opposed to frameworks that have leaned more on stepped up antitrust enforcement like those in the U.S. and Germany. As Canada continues to grapple with concentrated power in digital markets, it should watch Australia’s experiment closely. Though often placed in opposition, competition and regulation have a complementary role to play in supporting fair markets. Australia’s proposed framework is a reminder that partners around the world are starting to heed that lesson. 📰 CAMP in the News 📰Trump Puts Forward Big Tech Critic for DOJ AntitrustIn Washington, key antitrust leadership positions are up for grabs, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. This week brought some welcome news with Donald Trump’s nomination of Gail Slater, a JD Vance ally known for her stance against Big Tech, to head the Department of Justice’s antitrust division. The U.S. has become a global leader in antitrust enforcement under officials like DOJ antitrust head Jonathan Kanter and FTC Chair Lina Khan, who have spearheaded lawsuits against Google, Amazon, and other tech giants. But that leadership is at a possible inflection point with Trump’s return to the political stage. Thankfully, choices like Slater indicate that there may be more continuity on antitrust than expected, especially when it comes to tech giants. Still outstanding in the U.S. is Trump’s pick for FTC Chair. While candidates like attorney Mark Meador are well regarded in the anti-monopoly community, it remains to be seen if the choice of Slater is a one off or part of a broader pattern. As Canada’s Competition Bureau takes on Google, the uncertainty of the U.S. transition period underscores the importance of robust leadership and public support for assertive antitrust action. If you have any monopoly tips or stories you'd like to share, drop us a line at hello@antimonopoly.ca
Follow CAMP on Twitter LinkedIn Instagram or Facebook |
First Came Bread. Are They Fixing the Price of Meat and Potatoes Too?
The Hatchet
The price of food keeps rising. And for the last few years, we’ve had a national debate about whether or not that’s the fault of the mega grocery chains. But the CEOs of Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys claim that it’s not their fault. We should be looking further up the food chain for the real culprits.
They might have a point. Everywhere you look in the food industry, you’ll find rapacious corporate oligopolies. The grocery chains might have fixed the price of bread. But there’s credible accusations that other companies are fixing the price of meat, potatoes and much more.
Calling a ride in Toronto is an overpriced mess. Here’s how to fix it
Toronto’s ride-hailing industry is a mess right now. The signs of strain are plastered over social media. Recently, when a Lyft passenger told reporters about how she was stranded in Toronto after refusing her driver’s request to pay cash instead of the app fare — she was charged $62, and he would have gotten $18 — readers piled on to report similar experiences. During a July downpour, a rider complained UberX was asking three times the usual rate to get him to Union Station. In October, ride-hail drivers erupted into wildcat strikes at Pearson Airport twice, protesting plummeting earnings after the introduction of AI-based pay.
Read the full article here.
Keldon Bester: The Google case shows Canada’s Competition Bureau is meeting the moment
Last week, Canada’s Competition Bureau sued Google, one of the largest companies on the planet, for abusing its dominant position in online advertising, a market that touches nearly every corner of the economy.
Though the case alone is news, more important is the growing trend of the Competition Bureau shifting its focus to where competition matters most for Canadians amid an ongoing cost of living crisis.
Read the full article here.
Letters: Competition Bureau Sues Google
December 1, 2024Welcome to Letters from CAMP, a newsletter on anti-monopoly activity in Canada and abroad, brought to you by the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. In this installment we have:
Let's dive in.
Google’s AdTech Empire Faces Canadian ReckoningCanada’s Competition Bureau has launched a bold legal challenge against Google, accusing the tech giant of monopolizing online advertising to the detriment of Canadian businesses and consumers. The Bureau claims Google has tied its various ad tech tools together, effectively locking customers into its ecosystem while freezing out potential competitors. This follows a record-setting year in which over 200 billion Canadian ad transactions flowed through Google’s ad systems—a sobering statistic highlighting just how much influence one company can wield. This case is the Bureau’s most ambitious enforcement action in years, paralleling the U.S. Department of Justice’s high-profile litigation targeting Google’s advertising empire. It’s a critical test of Canada’s recently updated competition laws, including strengthened powers to address abuse of dominance. Notably, it’s been nearly a decade since the Bureau’s last major abuse of dominance litigation — that time it was an unsuccessful attempt to shake up the supply of in-flight meals at the Vancouver International Airport. It’s clear that today the enforcer’s ambition is better aligned with Canada’s monopoly moment. In a statement responding to the announcement, CAMP executive director Keldon Bester noted that “online advertising is a critical tool for every Canadian business trying to reach their customers, and monopolization of this market means inflated costs that are ultimately borne by consumers.” The challenge also reflects a shift in focus towards the structures and incentives that allow firms to choke off competition. With the Bureau calling for divestitures along with financial and behavioural penalties, it’s clear Canada is stepping up as an equal partner in the global pushback against concentrated power. In taking on one the largest companies on the planet, the Bureau is in for a serious fight. But it will take swings like these to deliver the benefits of competition to Canadians across the country. 📚 What We’re Reading 📚
Food Fight: Grupo Bimbo Accuses Maple Leaf of Cartel EntrapmentGrupo Bimbo has filed a $2 billion lawsuit against Maple Leaf Foods, claiming it was misled into buying a company embroiled in Canada’s infamous bread price-fixing cartel. It’s a new twist in a scandal that has already seen grocery giants like Loblaw and Weston settle class-action lawsuits while the results of the government’s case against the cartel largely remain to be seen. The story underscores the glacial pace of enforcement or accountability for the alleged participants under Canada’s competition law. Uncovered seven years ago, Grupo Bimbo is the only player so far to face any penalties from the government’s investigation. This is the case despite the cooperation of Loblaws in uncovering the cartel in the first place and their corresponding immunity deal. But justice has come from other areas of the legal system in the meantime. Loblaw and George Weston, the first defendants to settle lawsuits, agreed to pay $500 million in damages earlier this year, inclusive of the $96 million they previously distributed in $25 gift cards as compensation. Still, these settlements pale in comparison to the potential scale of the cartel conduct, which overcharged Canadian consumers an estimated $5 billion between 2001 and 2015. Despite this, many accused grocers, including Sobeys and Metro, deny participation in the scheme, arguing Loblaw’s accusations aim to shift blame from their central role. 📰 CAMP in the News 📰
Algorithmic Rent Hikes Under the SpotlightCorporate landlords are in hot water as Canada’s Competition Bureau investigates allegations of algorithmic collusion in rental markets. The Bureau’s inquiry, prompted by reports of Canadian landlords using AI tools like YieldStar, has put a spotlight on a practice some call a “housing cartel.” Designed to recommend higher-than-market rents by analyzing confidential industry data, these pricing tools have already drawn antitrust legal challenges and grassroots pushback in the U.S.. While we await the outcome of this investigation, it’s worth considering how antitrust cases can deliver a treasure trove of important revelations. Remember the bread price-fixing scandal? Emails unearthed during legal proceedings described cozy conversations between corporate executives about price adjustments for more kinds of food than just bread. Will the same happen here? What might a deep dive into landlords’ inboxes reveal about the human side of algorithmic decision-making? Some major landlords, like Dream Unlimited, have announced a pause in using YieldStar amid the scrutiny, but let’s not mistake damage control for accountability. As Canada works to reverse the effects of the housing crisis, any practice that serves to raise the cost of housing should be under the spotlight. If you have any monopoly tips or stories you'd like to share, drop us a line at hello@antimonopoly.ca
Follow CAMP on Twitter LinkedIn Instagram or Facebook |
Canada’s big media goes after OpenAI, while Ottawa targets Google
The Globe & Mail
On Friday, five of Canada’s major news media organizations, Torstar, Postmedia, The Globe and Mail, the Canadian Press and CBC, filed a lawsuit against ChatGPT creator OpenAI, accusing the generative AI company of copyright infringement. The Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP) welcomed the Competition Bureau announcement, with executive director Keldon Bester saying in a statement that it represents a “turning point” for competition in Canada.