Google Maps has millions of fake business addresses and names that scam customers by overcharging for services like contracting, according to The Wall Street Journal’s sources. The fake businesses also steal real businesses’ names, or pretend to be in a different location than they really are. Though Google prohibits the practice, it hasn’t been able to fully crack down on the listings due to the volume being added each month. The company technically benefits from the scams because it gets paid for ads; it’s also been adding more ads to its Maps product. A Google spokesperson said the firm has added new defences for business categories at high risk for false listings; it is also looking into several incidents The WSJ pointed out. (Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: This news is significant for a company that handles more than 90 per cent of global searches, and comes on the heels of an imminent U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation into the company’s search and other businesses. Google has gotten antitrust complaints in the past. In Canada, the Competition Bureau looked into allegations in 2016 that Google’s promotion of its own services in local searches—for example, in a search for local dentists, listing examples in a Google Maps box at the top of a page—excluded its rivals. In that case, the Bureau didn’t consider the practice to be anti-competitive. In the intervening years, the company has experienced more controversy, including in Europe, where the EU fined it €2.4 billion for search-result manipulation.