Google Said to Be Possible Target of Antitrust Probe by FTC

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering a broad antitrust investigation into Google Inc.’s dominance of the Internet-search industry, two people familiar with the matter said.

Before proceeding with any probe, the FTC is awaiting a decision by the Justice Department on whether it will challenge Google’s planned acquisition of ITA Software Inc. as a threat to competition in the travel-information search business, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is still confidential.