Google in the sights of antitrust enforcers in the US, too

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) explores whether Google is becoming overly dominant in the market for internet search engines. This report two sources close to the matter to Bloomberg. An investigation has not been publicly announced because the FTC still awaits the verdict of the Justice Department on the admissibility of Google’s take-over of ITA Software. This take-over would strongly enhance Google’s position on the market for travel searching.

The FTC and the Justice Department are jointly responsible for enforcing antitrust legislation in the US. The scope and size of this case would rival that of the infamous antitrust case against Microsoft, years ago.

According to Google, nothing is the matter. Internet users are free to choose another search engine. “Since competition is one click away on the Internet, we work hard to put our users’ interests first and give them the best, most relevant answers to their queries,” Adam Kovacevich, spokesman for Google said. “We built Google for users, not websites.”

Earlier, the European Commission announced to subject the neutrality of Google's search results to a thorough investigation, after complaints of, amongst others, Microsoft. Future of Copyright reported on this case here and here.