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Google deal under FTC review
The Federal Trade Commission has opened a preliminary antitrust investigation into Google’s planned $3.1 billion purchase of the online advertising company DoubleClick.
Google’s planned $3.1 billion purchase of the online advertising company DoubleClick is under scrutiny. The Federal Trade Commission has opened a preliminary antitrust investigation after the deal, involving powerful forces in their respective niches of the online advertising business, prompted privacy advocates and competitors to raise concerns after it was announced last month.
Among the competitors that had called for an antitrust review were Microsoft, which had lost out in the bidding for DoubleClick, and AT&T, which distributes services over the Internet like digital television.
“We think it’s very important that the FTC is taking a look at the Google-DoubleClick deal,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy rights group. It was alleged that Google collects the search histories of its users, while DoubleClick tracks what Web sites people visit. The merger, according to a complaint by privacy rights groups, would “give one company access to more information about the Internet activities of consumers than any other company in the world.”
Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said that decisions made now about the structure of the online advertising industry could have lasting effects on data collection and personal privacy on the Internet, especially if control rests with a “few powerful gatekeepers” led by Google.
Still, privacy issues are not typically the concern of antitrust officials. In reviewing a proposed merger, legal experts say, regulators weigh the likely impact on competition and struggle with tricky technical matters like defining the relevant market to measure.
Google is facing questions about its privacy practices not only from advocacy groups in the United States, but also from an advisory panel for the European Union. The company has said it welcomes the debate. It defends its privacy safeguards and says its business is based on consumer trust.
[ Via nytimes ]
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Among the competitors that had called for an antitrust review were Microsoft, which had lost out in the bidding for DoubleClick, and AT&T, which distributes services over the Internet like digital television.
“We think it’s very important that the FTC is taking a look at the Google-DoubleClick deal,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy rights group. It was alleged that Google collects the search histories of its users, while DoubleClick tracks what Web sites people visit. The merger, according to a complaint by privacy rights groups, would “give one company access to more information about the Internet activities of consumers than any other company in the world.”
Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said that decisions made now about the structure of the online advertising industry could have lasting effects on data collection and personal privacy on the Internet, especially if control rests with a “few powerful gatekeepers” led by Google.
Still, privacy issues are not typically the concern of antitrust officials. In reviewing a proposed merger, legal experts say, regulators weigh the likely impact on competition and struggle with tricky technical matters like defining the relevant market to measure.
Google is facing questions about its privacy practices not only from advocacy groups in the United States, but also from an advisory panel for the European Union. The company has said it welcomes the debate. It defends its privacy safeguards and says its business is based on consumer trust.
[ Via nytimes ]
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