According to a report in Politico, California has become the 49th state to launch an antitrust investigation into Google.
California and Alabama were the only states that did not participate in an antitrust investigation by 48 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, that began in September and is focused on Google’s dominance in online advertising and search.
It is still unclear on which aspects of Google’s business the reported California investigation will focus.
The Justice Department is also currently conducing its own antitrust investigation into Google, and working with the multi-state probe. It is expected that the investigations will result in lawsuits against Google.
Google is among several big tech companies, including Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon, that are currently being scrutinized by state and federal legislators and agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, over alleged antitrust issues.
In 2011, California, four other states (Texas, New York, Oklahoma and Ohio) and the Federal Trade Commission launched an antitrust investigation into allegations that Google unfairly favored its own products over competitors in search results. That investigation was closed in 2013.
TechCrunch contacted Google and the office of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for comment. In a statement, a representative for the Attorney General’s office said “To protect its integrity, we do not comment on a potential or ongoing investigation.”