The antitrust investigation of Google Inc. by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has expanded with demands for information from other technology companies, two people familiar with the matter said. The people, who didn’t want to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak about the probe, said they didn’t know which companies received the so-called civil investigative demands from the FTC. The demands are similar to subpoenas.
Likely recipients of the demands, which will probably be sent out in groups, are rivals that have complained that Google has used its dominance as the world’s most popular search engine to hurt competition in the Internet industry, said a third person familiar with the matter.
Those companies include Microsoft Corp., online travel agency Expedia Inc. and Yelp Inc., a restaurant review website, said the third person, asking for anonymity because of the lack of authorization to speak publicly.
Microsoft hasn’t received a demand yet, said Jack Evans, a spokesman for the Redmond, Washington-based company. “We will cooperate with any request we receive for additional information from the FTC,” he said in an e-mail.
Vince Sollitto, a spokesman for San Francisco-based Yelp, declined to comment. Katie Dinas, a spokeswoman for Bellevue, Washington-based Expedia, didn’t immediately return phone calls and an e-mail seeking comment.
“We understand that with success comes scrutiny and we’re happy to answer any questions about our business,” said Mistique Cano, a spokeswoman for Mountain View, California-based Google.
Google said July 21 that it decided to remove outside reviews from its Places pages, which direct users to local establishments. Companies including Yelp and Expedia’s TripAdvisor complained that Google used their content without permission and misrepresented information on their sites.
The FTC is focusing on whether Google unfairly ranks search results to favor its own businesses and increases advertising rates for competitors, the third person said. The agency also is examining whether the company is using its control of the Android mobile operating system to discourage smart-phone makers from using rivals’ applications, the person said.
