The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Google's $1.3bn acquisition of the crowdsourced traffic-mapping and navigation company Waze, the search company has confirmed to the Guardian. The FTC's actions follow demands from consumer groups concerned that the takeover by Google, which already dominates online mapping – notably in the US – could corner the market by absorbing the Israeli startup, which boasted earlier this year its only real competitor was Google. Though Waze's revenues are below $70m, the level at which an FTC investigation would automatically be triggered, the watchdog is entitled to investigate any takeover that it thinks could restrict consumer choice. The investigation is the latest in a series of antitrust and other regulatory scrutiny being applied to Google in the US and Europe.