US: House Republican calls for renewed antitrust probe of Google

Rep. Todd Rokita, a conservative Republican from Indiana, has called for the federal government to reopen an antitrust investigation Google’s search engine reported The Hill.

In a letter Thursday to the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, Rokita noted that Google controls over 85% of the internet search market, up from 71% when the FTC staff investigated Google in 2012.

“These market conditions are in part what prompted European regulators to take action against Google,” Rokita wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Axios. “It is time for your agencies to reopen reviews of Google to ensure that its business practices comply with the law.”

A spokesman for the Justice Department’s antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, said he had received the letter and is reviewing it.

Last year, the European Union issued a record US$2.7 billion antitrust fine against Google for elevating its own comparison shopping service over rivals’ in its search results. European regulators also have two other ongoing antitrust investigations into the company.

Full Content: The Hill, Axios

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