Google has set aside a large sum of money in its first quarter to cover potential charges related to resolving an investigation by the US Department of Justice.
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The company revealed it had put $500m (£303m) in a fund in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It was first reported by GeekWire.
In the filing, Google wrote that it took the charge as "a potential resolution of an investigation by the US Department of Justice into the use of Google advertising by certain advertisers". The company said it took the charge in May, but accrued it against earnings in the period that ended 31 March. Google was not specific in its filing regarding the investigation, and a company spokesman declined to comment because it is a legal matter. A US Justice Department spokesman also declined to comment.
For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Google takes $500M charge for potential antitrust claims on CNET News.
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