The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in early stage of investigation into whether Google is using its dominance in the online display-ad market to illegally limit competition.
The new line of investigation, which follows the FTC’s move to close a review of Google’s search business in January 2013 without taking action, is targeted on tools acquired when the search engine major purchased display ad firm DoubleClick in 2007.
Additionally, the sources revealed Reuters that the investigation is in the preliminary stages.
Some of Google’s ad-technology rivals complained to the FTC that the search major leveraged some of its most popular DoubleClick products, such as the ad managing system, which has an approximate 80% of the market, to drive websites to use other products, including Ad Exchange.
The new line of investigation follows FTC’s closure of the 20-month antitrust probe into Google’s web-search business that explored whether it had manipulated its search results to favour its own services.
In addition to the FTC, Canada’s Competition Bureau is planning to commence a formal investigation into Google’s search practices, while the European Union is probing Google over its search business operations.
Google is also under scanner by the antitrust agencies in Argentina and South Korea.
Currently, the firm is also facing claims over tax dodge in the UK.
