Microsoft, others protest Google's DoubleClick deal
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Microsoft and other groups told federal lawmakers at a congressional hearing that a Google-DoubleClick merger would hurt the Internet.
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InfoWorld - Google&#39;s proposed merger with online advertising server DoubleClick would create a giant that would control a huge portion of online advertising and hurt the Internet, opponents of the deal told U.S. lawmakers Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - A European consumer group has complained that Google's proposed acquisition of online ad broker DoubleClick could hurt privacy rights due to the massive amount of data the companies would hold. In a letter, the Bureau EuropÃ©en des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC) has asked the European Commission and other authorities to investigate how the deal would affect consumers. Google, whichÂ bought DoubleClickÂ in April for $3.1 billion, refuted the assertion that the deal will harm privacy. "Not surprisingly, we don't agree," said Rachel Whetstone, Google's director of European corporate communications, on Thursday. The company thinks the deal will lead to lower priced ad services for both publishers and advertisers, and the delivery of more relevant ads to users, she said. Google's deal with DoubleClick also prompted scrutiny. The U.S. TheÂ Federal Trade Commission is investigatingÂ the deal following a complaint filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Center for Digital Democracy, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The groups are concerned how Google will protect its data and users' privacy, including how it will handle cookies and other data that could potentially be used to identify Internet users. The European Commission has not yet been formally notified of the deal by Google or DoubleClick, a Commission spokeswoman said. Acquisitions can fall under the purview of national competition authorities or the European Commission, depending on where the companies do business, their turnover and other factors, the spokeswoman said. Â
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will not try to block Google&#39;s acquisition of online ad-serving vendor DoubleClick, the agency said Thursday.The commission voted 4-1 to approve the deal after an eight-month investigation. &quot;After carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that&#160;Google&#39;s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick&#160;is unlikely to substantially lessen competition,&quot; the majority wrote in a statement.The commission downplayed&#160;concerns brought by some privacy groups. Privacy concerns are &quot;not unique to Google and DoubleClick,&quot; and &quot;extend to the entire online advertising marketplace,&quot; commissioners wrote.Google, the provider of the most widely used search engine, announced in April that it planned to acquire ad serving giant DoubleClick in a $3.1 billion deal.The commission examined several factors and concluded that the two companies are not direct competitors, the FTC said in a news release on Thursday. The agency found that competition in online ad-serving markets is vigorous and likely to increase.The agency will closely monitor the ad-serving space, however, commissioners wrote. &quot;The markets within the online advertising space continue to quickly evolve, and predicting their future course is not a simple task,&quot; the majority wrote. &quot;We want to be clear ... that we will closely watch these markets and, should Google engage in unlawful tying or other anticompetitive conduct, the commission intends to act quickly.&quot;Google, which faces a similar examination before the European Union, praised the FTC decision.&quot;The FTC&#39;s strong support sends a clear message: this acquisition poses no risk to competition and will benefit consumers,&quot; Eric Schmidt, Google&#39;s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. &quot;We hope that the European Commission will soon reach the same conclusion, and we are confident that this deal will deliver more relevant ads for consumers, more choices for advertisers, and more opportunities for Web site publishers.&quot;Google will remain committed to user privacy, Schmidt added. &quot;For us, privacy does not begin or end with our purchase of DoubleClick,&quot; he said. &quot;We have been protecting our users&#39; privacy since our inception, and will continue to innovate in how we safeguard their information and maintain their trust.&quot;The same month that Google and DoubleClick announced the deal, three privacy groups, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG),&#160;filed a petition asking the FTC to block the deal&#160;unless Google made significant changes to its privacy policy. The groups argued that the combined company with have unparalleled access to Web users&#39; personal information.EPIC and the CDD didn&#39;t have an immediate reaction to the ruling.FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour voted against the deal, saying she disagreed with the majority&#39;s view on the direction of the ad-serving market.And Commissioner Jon Leibowitz, while voting with the majority, said the deal raised serious competition and privacy issues. Those issues, &quot;though in part brought to light by the deal, clearly transcend it,&quot; he wrote.In late May, Google announced that the FTC was examining the deal for potential antitrust problems. The FTC can rule that a merger raises antitrust issues, and the agency can recommend remedies. If the merging companies don&#39;t reach a settlement with the FTC, the agency can see an injunction against the merger in a U.S. court.Leibowitz, in November, said the agency was reviewing the case on antitrust, but not privacy, grounds. The privacy groups have argued, however, that the privacy issue is related to antitrust partly because of the competitive edge Google would get in targeting advertising to specific people.In December,&#160;EPIC and CDD filed a new complaint, asking FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras to recuse herself from the case. Majoras&#39; husband works for a law firm that is advising DoubleClick, but DoubleClick and the FTC said that the Jones Day law firm hasn&#39;t represented the company before the FTC.
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Pledges 'constructive' dialogue with Europe Google is reported to be facing a fresh regulatory investigation: this time in the US, and into its acquisition of ad serving firm DoubleClick.â¦
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Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith says the Google-DoubleClick merger "will be bad for publishers, bad for advertisers, and most importantly, bad for consumers."
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An Australian consumer agency says it won't block Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick because it does not consider the two companies to be competitors.
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In Google's first public reaction to Microsoft's unsolicited bid for Yahoo, it says the merger could pose a threat to the internet, and could stifle openness, innovation and protection of privacy online.
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Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith says Google-DoubleClick merger "will be bad for publishers, bad for advertisers, and most importantly, bad for consumers."
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A pay cut for certain IBM employees has inspired gales of protest -- online, where the Alliance@IBM is conducting a digital protest against the new system.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.S. government still needs to block or impose conditions on Google's acquisition of online advertising server DoubleClick, despite Google's call for global privacy standards, three privacy groups said Monday. Google last Friday called for a global privacy standard, and the company referred to a framework designed by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). But the APEC standard is "weak," Melissa Ngo, director of the Identification and Surveillance Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), said during a press conference Monday. The APEC standard "puts the burden on consumers to prove they are being harmed," she said. Google's call for a global privacy standardÂ does not allay concerns that privacy groups have withÂ Google's proposed $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, said Amina Fazlullah, staff attorney with consumer group U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG). Consolidation in the online advertising market could lead to more demand for consumers' private information, Fazlullah said. In addition, Web sites will have few choices for which vendors to deliver their ads, she said. "The resulting Google company will have a lot of control over what we can actually see, read, and hear about online," Fazlullah said. "That is definitely problematic for consumers, but also for greater democratic concerns." A Google spokesman said the APEC privacy standard is just one model the company has pointed to. Google also supports the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's town hall meeting on the evolving online advertising market, to be held in early November, spokesman Adam Kovacevich said. EPIC's complaints about Google's privacy policies are "unsupported by the facts and the law," Google added in a statement. "Google aggressively protects user privacy, and user trust is central to Google's values and essential to the success of our products," Google said. "We have engaged with numerous privacy and consumer advocates to discuss and explain our acquisition of DoubleClick, but unfortunately EPIC has refused every offer we have made to meet with them. We can only conclude that EPIC would prefer not to be informed about the erroneous claims it is making." But the privacy groups said Google continues to collect a "massive" amount of data about users. "There is no greater threat to competition in the online market and also a threat to privacy than the Google/DoubleClick merger," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. Combining Google's search dominance with DoubleClick's display advertising dominance "will give Google an overwhelming share of control of the online advertising market," he added.
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A European consumer group has complained that Google Inc.'s proposed acquisition of online ad broker DoubleClick Inc. could hurt privacy rights due to the massive amount of data the companies would hold.
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday approved Google's $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, saying the much-criticized deal did not pose a threat to competition in Internet advertising.
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The Federal Trade Commission has asked Google for more details about its proposed $3.1 billion purchase of online advertising company DoubleClick as part of an investigation into whether the deal raises antitrust concerns, a Google executive said yesterday.
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Deborah Platt Majoras said she wonât remove herself from an antitrust review of Googleâs purchase of DoubleClick, rebuffing requests from privacy groups opposed to the transaction.
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Web search leader Google Inc.'s   commitment to consumer privacy came under fire from  Privacy International, a British activist group that has  previously singled out Google for criticism.
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Microsoft Corp.  said on  Monday it expects rival Google Inc.  to file a  complaint with a federal judge arguing that changes Microsoft  has agreed to make to its Windows Vista operating system fall  short of addressing concerns that its computer search function  puts Google and other potential competitors at a disadvantage.