Competition Bureau investigating Videotron ‘astroturfing’

The Competition Bureau is asking Federal Court to compel Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron to produce information the bureau says it needs to investigate whether or not the company broke elements of the Competition Act. In a Wednesday court filing, the bureau says it has launched an investigation into Videotron's practices under section 74.01 (1)(a) of the Competition Act, which allows the authority to review business practices that make "a representation to the public that is false or misleading in a material respect." According to a Competition Bureau spokesperson, the office believes that Videotron may be engaging in a practice known as "astroturfing," where Videotron employees may have been publishing "comments, rankings, stars or mentions in mobile applications, as well as likes on social media, and did not disclose that they were employees of the companies." "Astroturfing violates the deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act. Should the Bureau find evidence of conduct contrary to the Act, it will take appropriate action," a Competition Bureau spokesperson wrote in an email to The Wire Report. Specifically, the bureau is investigating practices related to the marketing of several of the company's products, including its Helix IPTV hub product, as well as its WiFi product, Club Illico over-the-top streaming service, and its Fizz Mobile flanker brand. The bureau launched the "formal inquiry" on May 8, the spokesperson said, but declined to say how the bureau was made aware of the allegations, citing the confidentiality of the investigation. On Wednesday, the bureau asked the court to force Videotron to produce internal documents relevant to the investigation, and to force Videtron to answer written questions. "The documents and information requested will enable the Commissioner to determine the nature, scope and frequency of the representations made online by the defendants or on their behalf about their mobile applications, and their products and telecommunications services," the bureau spokesperson wrote in the email to The Wire Report. "The documents and information requested will also allow the Commissioner to assess whether the defendants have acted diligently to prevent the conduct from occurring." Asked if Videotron was cooperating, the bureau spokesperson said that the investigation is ongoing, and that there has been no conclusion of wrongdoing. In the court filing, the Competition Bureau includes several instances of what it suspects may be employees leaving reviews for Videotron products on online marketplaces like Alphabet Inc.'s Google Play App Store. All in all, the bureau's filing says the regulator found 47 different reviews on Google's app store left by what it believes are 42 different Videotron employees. Quebecor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — With reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Competition Bureau investigating Videotron ‘astroturfing’

News | July 17, 2020

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Competition Bureau investigating Videotron ‘astroturfing’

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