Google is the first company investigated for potential strategic market status under the new U.K. Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.

Britain will use new regulatory powers to investigate Google's search services to see how they impact consumers and businesses, including advertisers and rivals, following U.S. calls to break up the tech giant.

Britain’s competition watchdog says it’s investigating Google’s search ad business, adding to global scrutiny that the U.S. tech giant is facing