Alphabet Gets Justice Department Civil Investigative Demand on Antitrust Probes -- Update

By Josh Beckerman

Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) said Friday that on Aug. 30 it received a civil investigative demand from the U.S. Justice Department seeking information on its prior antitrust investigations in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The company said "we expect to receive in the future similar investigative demands from state attorneys general. We continue to cooperate with the DOJ, federal and state regulators in the United States, and other regulators around the world."

Earlier Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that state attorneys general are formally launching separate antitrust probes into Facebook Inc. (FB) and Google. The Google probe is expected to be announced Monday, the Journal reported.

In a Friday securities filing, Alphabet noted its previous disclosure in its quarterly filing that "the online technology industry and our company have received increased regulatory scrutiny in recent months," and that the DOJ said it would begin an antitrust review of market-leading online platforms.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 06, 2019 17:36 ET (21:36 GMT)

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