Google revealed that they are under investigation in a regulatory filing today. Argentinian and South Korean officials are currently examining some of Google’s business practices. There is no word on if officials have found any evidence of unfair practices yet.
According to a Google representative’s comments emailed to the Washington Post, the investigation involves, “certain business practices”, and, “is an ongoing inquiry that started last year and we continue to cooperate with regulators”.
The statement also said, “The Argentinian Competition Commission notified us that they are conducting a preliminary inquiry into our search and search advertising services, and we are of course happy to answer their questions”.
Bloomberg reports, Google’s Seoul office was raided by Korean antitrust regulators as part of investigation to see if the search giant blocked competitors in search results. Similar investigations are currently underway in the United States and Europe.
There isn’t much information available about the current investigations in South Korea and Argentina or if there will be actions beyond investigation. We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.