Google probe said to speed up as U.S. queries site operators

The Federal Trade Commission told eBay and Yelp to provide information on whether Google is competing unfairly, speeding up a probe that began a year ago. The shopping and review websites were among about a dozen companies that received civil investigative demands, which are similar to subpoenas, from the FTC. In its requests, the FTC is seeking examples of Google failing to follow through on promises to direct consumers to websites that compete with its own services. Agency officials also asked if Google, the world's most popular search engine, is selling rivals prime advertising space on search results pages.