California Eyeing Yahoo/Google Too

Sam Gustin writes: Hot on the heels of the news that the Justice Department has hired antitrust ace Sandy Litvack to consult on its investigation of Yahoo's controversial ad partnership with Google comes word that California is probing the deal as well.

California attorney general Jerry Brown has requested documents on the case from the feds, who have supplied them, according to the San Fransisco Chronicle.

Brown is apparently responding to a request made by California Assemblyman Joel Anderson, a Republican who represents San Diego county.

In July, Anderson wrote Brown asking for an investigation, according to the paper.

"We're talking about giving (Google and Yahoo) over 90 percent market share -- nobody else on the Web has a database like that," Anderson wrote. "Who can compete?"

California joins a handful of other states, including Connecticut and Florida, in probing the antitrust implications of the Yahoo/Google deal.