Google Maps Integrates Waze On iPhone And Android Amid FTC Investigation

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) said today that it is still cooperating with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in regard to its acquisition navigation app Waze. In the meantime, Google will now include real-time incident reports from Waze in its Google Maps product for Android and iOS devices.

Google acquired the Israel-based startup in June for $966 million, but did not submit the deal to the FTC at the time because Waze’s revenue was too low to prompt an automatic review. Lawyers familiar with antitrust investigations told the Wall Street Journal at the time that the FTC might prevent Google from integrating with Waze. However, Google is releasing an update to its Waze and Google Maps apps on iPhone and Android mobile devices that will integrate features between the two.

A representative from Google issued a comment regarding the investigation: “As we confirmed several weeks ago, the FTC contacted us about our acquisition of Waze. We continue to work with the FTC to answer their questions.”

The FTC declined to comment, stating that it was prohibited from releasing information about ongoing investigations. It is still unclear if the agency gave Google approval for including Waze features in Maps and vice versa, or whether the FTC did not prevent the companies from integrating in the first place.

Google announced today that it would include real-time traffic reports on Google Maps. The company also will update Waze to include Google Search, and will now include “Street View” satellite imagery on the Waze Maps Editor, an online tool to create and edit traffic routes.

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