Google Maps faces scrutiny in US as Department of Justice pursues two other antitrust suits against the search giant
- Google requires developers to use its mapping and search services together, a practice known as bundling that can violate antitrust law
- The Justice Department began investigating Google in 2019 and has filed two antitrust complaints focused on search and advertising technology
The US Justice Department is investigating Google’s dominance in mapping, reviving a thread of its long-running antitrust investigation into the search giant, according to three people familiar with the probe.
The development shows the Justice Department is continuing to scrutinise some of Google’s most popular products, even after filing two major antitrust suits against the company.
Google’s terms of service require developers to use its maps and search products together. The limitations prevent companies from using Google Places data – which offer detailed information, photos and reviews of specific establishments – on rival mapping services.
Forcing companies to use one product in order to gain access to a more popular one, known as bundling, can violate antitrust law.
Google said the restrictions ensure a good user experience, and that some third parties from which it licenses map data restrict how it is used.
