Antirust Nominee Pressed on Monitoring Google's Behavior

Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) questioned Bill Baer, the Obama Administration's nominee to head the Justice Department's antitrust division, whether he would continue to monitor Google's activities to ensure it doesn't abuse its dominance in the Internet search market.

Chairman Kohl noted the panel's concerns about whether Google is using its dominant position in Internet search to favor its own products and services. The Federal Trade Commission is currently investigating such allegations against Google. "I recognize the FTC is investigating the search bias issue but Justice has and will likely continue to scrutinize many issues affecting Google. With this in mind, how will you continue to scrutinize allegations of anti-competitive behavior by Google in the Internet sector in the future and do you believe it has the capability to gain a stranglehold over this market," Chairman Kohl quizzed Baer. Baer did not directly answer the question. Instead, he said any dominant player requires close scrutiny from antitrust regulators. "Being vigilant whether its Microsoft or Alcoa Aluminum about firms that are successful, and we don't want to penalize success but to make sure it's not improperly translated into unfair advantage in other markets, is really a key part of what antitrust is all about," he said.