Google, whose search processes are under investigation in both Europe and the U.S., is finding that the scrutiny is only intensifying. The latest report, from Bloomberg, is that the Federal Trade Commission is investing whether Google illegally increased advertising rates by 50-fold for Microsoft. This investigation, according to a source cited by Bloomberg, is an offshoot of the earlier one launched by Justice.

Google is currently testifying to Congress about this and related matters, proclaiming its innocence. Indeed, its rivals are doing everything they can to hinder the company's progress via the regulatory and investigative powers of the government - a play used against Microsoft a decade ago. Still there is enough evidence to suggest that investigators have plenty of fodder - founded or unfounded - to continue to pursue Google. As they do, more about the company's guarded algorithms and ad policies will become public.
Google recently settled for $500 million with the Justice Department the illegal pharmaceutical ads it accepted from Canadian companies. The settlement, one of the largest of its kind, may have opened the door for more investigations, Boston.com predicted recently. “Many state attorneys general are probably now looking at Google very closely, wondering whether there are deceptive ads worth investigating and prosecuting,’’ said Ben Edelman, assistant professor at Harvard Business School told the publication. "Google could be sitting on billions of dollars of ill-gotten gains."