Google's activities reviewed by US and European regulators



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WASHINGTON (AP) – Google, the technology giant known around the world for its search engine, is also involved in several other pies, such as online advertising, email and video. This gives a lot of consideration to the US anti-trust enforcement authorities, who have reported a new interest in bringing Google to court.

Governments around the world are increasingly confused by the power accumulated by large technology companies, with Google's dominance in research, Facebook in social networks and Amazon in e-commerce causing the greatest concern . In the most dramatic scenario, it might be wise to divide businesses into smaller parts.

The US Department of Justice is currently investigating Google's business practices in research and other areas, and whether they are breaking the antitrust law, according to press reports. Neither the company nor the Department of Justice will confirm or deny that an investigation has been launched. The Federal Trade Commission, which shares control of competition with the courts, opened an antitrust investigation on Google but closed it in 2013 without taking any action.

The company has voluntarily made changes after the FTC survey, including allowing advertisers to use their Google advertising campaign information to create campaigns with competitors. But a report from FTC staff released years later showed that the agency's staff had urged commissioners appointed by the president to sue Google. It never happened.

It is unclear what specific areas of Google's activity the Department of Justice could probe. But here are some possible areas in which US antitrust officers could intervene.

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According to eMarketer's estimates for 2019, Google largely dominates digital ad revenues, controlling 31.1% of global digital investments. Facebook is far behind with 20.2%.

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