But as far as Google is concerned, the attorneys general, the film group and Microsoft have a similar interest: to interfere in Google’s business. Movie studios have long complained that Google does not do enough to get rid of links to pirated film and television shows online. Illegal copies of their content on YouTube, a Google property, are another complaint.

By pushing the attorneys general to block illegal sales of pharmaceuticals on Google, the movie industry has concluded, they could use the same powers to curb the distribution of pirated goods. For Microsoft, any limits imposed on Google might help it improve the fortunes of its struggling search engine, Bing.

“As a trade association, our primary objective is to protect our members and their creative works — employing voluntary initiatives, policy solutions and legal actions,” said Kate Bedingfield, an M.P.A.A. spokeswoman. “When wrongdoing is taking place online, we work with and support appropriate law enforcement officials, including the attorneys general, as do many other industries.”

Google insists that it has cooperated by removing some objectionable content. In a February letter that Kent Walker, general counsel of the company, sent to attorneys general, he said that it had spent over $250 million during the last three years on policy enforcement and systems that help it remove illegal content from its search index. But Google has said it does not believe it is appropriate for it to completely remove from its search results many of the sites to which the prosecutors object.

“It is our firm belief that Google should not be the arbiter of what is and is not legal on the web — that is for courts and government to decide,” he said in the email, which was obtained from open records requests.

Google’s foes have found a particularly receptive official in Mr. Hood, a folksy Democrat who grew up in northern Mississippi. In late October, Mr. Hood issued a 79-page subpoena to Google, asking for records related to its advertisements and search results for controlled substances, fake IDs and stolen credit card numbers.

For months before that, a steady flow of letters from Mr. Hood to Google indicated his distaste for the company. One letter came with digital fingerprints suggesting that it had originated at a law firm, Jenner & Block, that represents the M.P.A.A.