26 Jun 2011

Google faces US investigation

2:13 pm on 26 June 2011

US regulators are investigating search engine giant Google over whether it manipulates results to block competitors and promote its own services.

Through its powerful search engine, Google handles two-thirds of all web searches in the United States, the ABC reports.

Now the web giant is under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over whether it is abusing that market dominance.

Competitors have long complained that rather than giving users the best results, the search engine promotes Google's own services, like map and travel websites, at their expense.

While Google has faced inquiries before, none have been as broad as this.

The company says it will cooperate but said it was still unclear exactly what the FTC's concerns are.