FTC Preparing Antitrust Probe of Google

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is preparing an investigation of Google Inc.’s dominance of the Internet search industry by alerting high-tech companies to gather information for the probe, three people familiar with the matter said. The agency told the companies that it plans to issue so-called civil investigative demands for the information, said the people, who requested anonymity because the FTC hasn’t made the matter public.