Oklahoma Joins Nationwide Probe Into Google

Oklahoma joined 49 other states and US territories to investigate Google over online advertising practices and antitrust violation allegations.

The investigation, announced Monday, is one of the first major investigations into the company which touches nearly every part of American life.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading the nationwide probe. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has yet to comment publicly but has signed onto this investigation.

In a press conference, Paxton said the early part of the investigation will focus on online advertising and data collection, specifically whether Google was illegally spying on users and potentially taking up too much of the online ad revenue in the US. Google is on track to rake in $48 billion in ad sales this year.

Google has invested billions of dollars into Oklahoma. In the last year the company spent $600 million to improve the data center in Pryor, bringing the total amount of investment to about $3 billion dollars. That data center also employs more than 600 Oklahomans. It's unclear if the investigation could have any impact on that investment or those employees.

Only California and Alabama have declined to join the investigation. It's also happening alongside a Department of Justice investigations into Google and Facebook for similar antitrust allegations.