China retaliated against tariffs from the United States on Tuesday with a series of measures that took aim at American companies. Along with imposing tariffs and import restrictions, the country said, it had launched an antitrust investigation into Google.
The announcement of the investigation was vague — just one line on a Chinese agency’s website. But it thrust Google, whose search engine is unavailable in China, into the middle of a geopolitical dispute and added to the company’s long list of regulatory headaches.
A Google spokesman declined to comment on the Chinese government’s investigation.
Google has the world’s most widely used search engine, and also leads the market for digital advertising. The company has faced antitrust investigations around the world, including in the United States, Canada, Europe and South Korea.
While it’s still unclear how China’s antimonopoly investigation will develop, it could affect Google’s dealings with Chinese companies.
China’s antitrust authority, the State Administration for Market Regulation, said it planned to investigate Google. The authority accused Google of violating an antimonopoly law without providing any additional details.
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