The U.S. Internet group Google has confirmed Friday, June 24, he had been warned by the U.S. competition authorities to open an investigation into possible abuse of dominant position, declaring that he would collaborate in the months come.
"We recognize that our success leads to more attention (the authorities). Yesterday, we were formally informed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it had launched an investigation into our activities," said one of the leaders Google's Amit Singhal, the blog of the group. "We respect the procedures of the FTC and we will work with it (as we did with other jurisdictions) in the coming months to answer questions on Google and our services," he added.
This investigation was announced Thursday by the Wall Street Journal. "The five committee members are preparing to send formal requests to Google of information in the coming days," said the financial daily in its electronic edition, citing "people familiar with the case."
The FTC declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of its investigations. According to the newspaper, "other companies also are likely to receive formal requests for information about their relationship with Google."
ABUSE OF DOMINANT POSITION?
For the Wall Street Journal, the investigation could be the largest to date in the United States on Google, which until now has attracted the attention of competition authorities mainly in connection with its mergers and acquisitions.
In particular, U.S. authorities should consider whether Google, which monopolizes about two-thirds of Internet searches, is abusing that dominant position to direct Internet users to its services at the expense of competing services.
Google is the subject of a similar survey of European authorities since November, following complaints from service providers online research competitors.
