by Catherine Holahan

U.S. government pressure on Google is building. Regulators across the country are stepping up their scrutiny of Google’s role in the market for online advertising, and antitrust experts say they’ve got cause for concern.

Recent signs that the government is getting serious about Google (GOOG) came from a Sept. 9 report in The Wall Street Journal that the Justice Dept. had hired former U.S. antitrust chief and former Walt Disney (DIS) Vice-Chairman Sandy Litvack for a possible antitrust case. The department had already said it’s examining an online advertising partnership between Google and Yahoo! (YHOO)

announced in June. Meantime, attorneys general in at least 11 states are conducting their own investigations to determine whether the deal gives Google too much control over the online advertising market, hampering competition.

Whether the government is focusing narrowly on the Yahoo-Google agreement or more generally on Google’s position in online advertising isn’t clear. The Justice Dept. declined to comment on the scope of its investigation. No matter, says Norman Hawker, a Western Michigan University professor of finance and commercial law. Hawker is writing a white paper on the deal on behalf of the American Antitrust Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit think tank that promotes competition.  Read More