GOOGLE FACES MISSOURI PROBE AMID ANTITRUST CONCERNS

The simmering debate over whether big internet companies are breaking antitrust rules to extend their dominance has a new front — Missouri. The state’s attorney general announced Monday he has opened an investigation into whether Google manipulated search results to benefit its own products over those of its competitors. He is also looking into whether Google scrapes information without permission from competitors like Yelp to use for its own search results. “We are looking at allegations that Google has lifted information from competi- tors’ own sites,” Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley said in a press conference broadcast on his Facebook page. “This misappropriation hurts business and it threatens to drive Google’s competitors out of the market.” A spokeswoman for Google declined to comment. The announcement comes two months after Yelp, which has long battled to keep Google from taking over the business of consumer reviews of small businesses, sent a letter complaining about Google to regulators, members of Congress and state attorneys general.