Google Books Service Officially Under Antitrust Scrutiny

Google’s plans to store millions of books online in digital form may excite tech-savvy bookworms, but it’s also drawn the watchful eye of the U.S. Justice Department, which has formally launched an antitrust investigation. Under the microscope is Google’s settlement last fall with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. The lawsuit alleged that Google’s plans to scan and store books online violated copyrights, and Google agreed to pay $125 million and create a Book Rights Registry in the settlement. It’s not clear whether the Justice Department is looking to block the agreement; Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said the company is open to tweaking the terms of the agreement. This isn’t the only antitrust investigation Google is dealing with. A formal probe is looking at possible hiring pacts between Google and other major companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating overlapping board positions between Google and Apple. It’s not easy being an omnipresent multinational corporation. [via Reuters]