(Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP Photo) This Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 file photo shows Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The U.S. Justice Department is readying an investigation of Google’s business practices and whether they violate competition standards, according to news reports. The search giant was fined a record $2.72 billion by European regulators in 2017 for abusing its dominance of the online search market. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission made an antitrust investigation of Google but closed it in 2013 without taking action.