The Wall Street Journal reports that the Federal Trade Commission has quietly stepped up its investigation into Android, over fears that Google is exploiting its position in the smartphone market.

According to the Journal, the FTC has been meeting with companies to hear concerns about how Android's market share is being used — and possibly misused — against others. The initial probe began last year, and the timing now coincides with antitrust charges recently filed against Google in the European Union. The FTC is reportedly looking into similar complaints, such as whether Google is disadvantaging non-Google services on the operating system, and US regulators hope to mine the the EU case for more information.

The FTC's probe may still never lead to legal action against Google. In 2013, facing charges from the FTC, the company largely avoided a regulatory crackdown by agreeing to make minor changes to its search practices.