Apple Subpoenaed By FTC in Google Antitrust Investigation [REPORT]

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The agency is especially interested in the agreements that made Google the preferred search engine in Safari for iPhone and iPad, according to Bloomberg's anonymous sources. Google rivals such as Microsoft have previously called those agreements anticompetitive.

Earlier this month, New York Senator Charles Schumer asked the FTC to investigate Apple and Google for violating users' privacy by accessing personal contacts and photos without consent.

In January, the FTC said it would add Google+ into its investigation into the company, saying it would see if Google is using its search engine to promote its products over others'.

Google has been a target for numerous investigations by the FTC into its operations --- from the way it handles user privacy to allegations that it's attempting to drive search to its products. But this most recent probe, launched last summer, into Google will be the most comprehensive.

At the time this investigation was launched, the FTC was looking into complaints from companies including Yelp, Expedia and Microsoft that said Google was attempting to drive clicks to its products. Amit Singhal, who heads up the Google Search Ranking team, said in a blog post that they would be working with the FTC during the investigation.

Google settled a probe by the FTC last year, which claimed its Buzz social network violated Google's own privacy policy.