The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is on the brink of launching a fresh antitrust probe into Google, over alleged misconduct over how it handles its display advertising business. The probe was spurred on by competing display advertising firms.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is on the brink of launching a fresh antitrust probe into Google, over alleged misconduct over how it handles its display advertising business, Reuters reported.
An unnamed source confirmed the news to Reuters late last week, adding that the investigation is still in its early stages and that the FTC had not yet sent out civil investigative demands ordering Google to hand over data.
The probe will focus on the tools Google purchased from display ad company Doubleclick in 2007. The FTC reportedly began the investigation following demands from a number of unnamed competing display advertising companies, which accused Google of using its position in the display ads market to favor its own services.
The FTC has mounted antitrust probes against Google in the past. The FTC previously mounted an investigation into whether Google was using its search dominance to promote its own services more than those of its competitors. That antitrust probe ended in January, with Google only making a couple of minor changes.
Elsewhere on the antitrust front, Google’s business in Canada is also about to face a formal inquiry from Canada’s Competition Bureau, the Financial Post reported May 17. The agency has yet to reveal the scope of the investigation or asked for any documentation from Google.
This article was originally published on V3.
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