Google Pressured to Make Deal With FTC Within the Next Few Days [REPORT]

Credit:

Google is under pressure to make a deal with the Federal Trade Commission to settle an antitrust investigation within the next few days or face a formal complaint, according to a report.

Citing "two people familiar with the situation," Bloomberg reports that the FTC has been meeting with Google for the past two weeks to try to put an end to the nearly 20-month probe. The FTC has been investigating whether Google has used its dominance in search to unfairly compete in other, related segments. In particular, the FTC is looking into whether Google rates its own services higher than Yahoo and Microsoft, its two main rivals in search.

Google reps could not be reached for comment on the report. Google rep Adam Kovacevich told Bloomberg: “We continue to work cooperatively with the Federal Trade Commission and are happy to answer any questions they may have."

Separately, the FTC also fined Google $22.5 million in August on charges that it violated users' privacy by tracking them via the Safari browser on Apple's iPhone.

News of a possible settlement doesn't seem to have spooked investors. On Monday afternoon, Google's stock price was up about 1% for the day.