• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Ed Sheeran asked Patriots owner Robert Kraft for $2 million aid donation after Macklemore was dropped from his tour for pro-Palestine comments

2

Meet Warren Buffett's son Howard, a former sheriff, war photographer, and now, Berkshire's new chairman

3

Sydney Sweeney doesn’t just star in controversial ads. She helps engineer them

1

Ed Sheeran asked Patriots owner Robert Kraft for $2 million aid donation after Macklemore was dropped from his tour for pro-Palestine comments

2

Meet Warren Buffett's son Howard, a former sheriff, war photographer, and now, Berkshire's new chairman

3

Sydney Sweeney doesn’t just star in controversial ads. She helps engineer them

Texas Attorney General is gunning for Google

By
Seth Weintraub
Seth Weintraub
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Seth Weintraub
Seth Weintraub
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 15, 2011, 6:13 PM ET
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Gregg Abbott’s office seeks special AdWords source as well as other documents and executive interviews.



Google’s (GOOG) government woes continue as Texas’s Antitrust Investigators are seeking information on the “manual overriding or altering of” search result rankings.

The order is similar to a subpoena, compelling a company to turn over documents and make executives available for interviews.

State investigators also want Google documents on rivals Microsoft (MSFT) Corp.’s Bing and Yahoo! (YHOO) Inc. and complaints about purchasing and placing an ad on Google, the world’s most popular Internet search engine.

Google has traditionally been super secret about its algorithms citing trade secrets as a reason from publicly disclosing any information about them.  Google’s hand may be forced here however.

The request was originally made last July from assistant attorney general Kim Van Winkle to Matthew Bye, a lawyer for Google and reported in September.

Something for the conspiracy theorists to consider:  Google’s algorithms change frequently so the one that they choose to provide the Texas Attorney General may not be the ones which are causing the complaints from his constituents.

A Google spokesperson told Bloomberg:

“While there’s always going to be room for improvement, we’re committed to competing fair and square, we’re continuing to work with the Texas attorney general’s office to answer their questions and understand any concerns.”

Texas is just one of Google’s government regulation concerns.  The U.S. DOJ is thoroughly looking through its planned acquisition of ITA and EU regulators are investigating privacy concerns.

More on Fortune.com:

  • Schmidt’s new role: Google defender/evangelist?
  • Google’s Schmidt tries to avoid clashes with EU regulators
  • Google’s ITA acquisition compares to Microsoft-Intuit ’95?
  • Google’s ITA acquisition will trigger regulators, analysts say
  • Google-AdMob decision due next week
  • Watchdog calls for federal inquiry into Google
About the Author
By Seth Weintraub
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.