US Authorities Set To Investigate Google+

Google is said to be under investigation by the American Federal Trade Commission, which has taken an interest in the firm's Google+ social network after complaints from Twitter.

The FTC takes competition issues very seriously, and several sources have confirmed to Bloomberg that it is mounting an investigation into the search giant after complaints from both microblogging platform Twitter and the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Both groups accuse Google of treating its own social network favourably in search results which feature Google+ results prominently.  Twitter hasn't been happy since Google decided to include its new social network in search results.  A previous agreement between the two firms had seen relevant tweets getting special billing on results pages, but it has since lapsed and not been renewed.

By including Google+ in its investigation, the FTC is expanding its remit following an initial complaint from Microsoft that Google favoured its own services in search results more generally.

Google is being attacked from all sides by its rivals, and there's no sign of a solution in a recent spat with Facebook about syncing user's mobile phone contacts.  The world's largest social network and Gmail both want to be able to get at your address book, but the ongoing dispute has both sides claiming the other is at fault.



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