• Bloomberg, Tuesday, April 5, 2011 11:51 AM

Google had better hope the Justice Department takes its time deciding whether to challenge the search giant's planned acquisition of ITA Software. Why? Because once it does, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering subjecting Google to a broad antitrust investigation related to its search dominance, sources tell Bloomberg.

"An FTC investigation of Google ... 'could be on par' with the scope of the Justice Department's probe of Microsoft a decade ago," Keith Hylton, an antitrust law professor at Boston University School of Law tells Bloomberg. Google "could fight the FTC, but that's going to cost a lot of money and time," Hylton adds.

As Bloomberg explains, the FTC and Justice Department share responsibility for oversight of antitrust enforcement, and the outcome of the ITA deal may determine whether the two agencies will vie for control of a broader probe of Google.

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