Report: FTC investigating Google-DoubleClick deal
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(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigatingÂ Google's proposed $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, according to news reports Tuesday. The investigation began at the end of last week as a result of concerns over privacy issues and the potential for anti-competitive practices, the New York Times reported, quoting anonymous sources. The two companies announced the all-cash agreement last month, with both Google and Microsoft pursuing the online advertising company, as the competition between the two for a greater share of the online ad market increases. Privacy groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD),Â filed a complaint with the FTCÂ on April 20, asking that the government agency block the merger unless Google will ensure users' privacy, including deleting information that could identify an individual user once that user ends his or her session with a Google site. Antitrust issues are likely to be of greater concern than privacy ones, with regulators more concerned about the merger's effect on other online ad players and their ability to compete against the new combined entity, the report said. Â
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Statement confirms that the FTC is investigating proposed $3.1 billion purchase of online advertising network DoubleClick.
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US regulators begin examining Google's planned takeover of internet advertising specialist Doubleclick.
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Perhaps this morning's FTC blessing of Google's intended merger with DoubleClick was no surprise, but a read of the final decision reveals an astonishing reason: The Commission claims it wouldn't really have the authority to stop it.
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Congress plans to scrutinize Google Inc.'s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick Inc. to gauge the potential impacts on consumer privacy and competition in the online advertising business.
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The Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday it approved Google's proposed $3.1 billion purchase of advertising rival DoubleClick.
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Antitrust authorities will conduct  an extended investigation into Google&#39;s  proposed  acquisition of Web ad supplier DoubleClick Inc., Google said on  Tuesday.
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Google Inc. said Friday it had filed for European Union permission to take over online ad tracker DoubleClick, a $3.1 billion deal that already has stirred concern about the control it will give Google over Internet advertising.
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The wait continues The European Commission has decided to drag out its investigation of Google's proposed DoubleClick purchase.â¦
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The chairman of a Senate antitrust panel said Googleâs proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of the online advertising company DoubleClick 'âwarrants close examinationâ' by regulators.
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Antitrust authorities will conduct an extended investigation into Google's  proposed acquisition of Web ad supplier DoubleClick Inc., Google said on Tuesday.
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U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras is consulting with the agency's ethics officer to see if she should recuse herself from a review of Google's planned acquisition of online ad network DoubleClick.
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The $3.1 billion merger between Web search king Google and online ad giant DoubleClick approved by U.S. regulators yesterday may create an advertising powerhouse of unrivaled reach and knowledge of Internet users' lives, desires and interests.
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U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras is consulting with the agency&#39;s ethics officer to see if she should recuse herself from a review of&#160;Google&#39;s planned acquisition of online ad network DoubleClick.On Wednesday, two technology lobbying organizations called on Majoras to recuse herself, citing her husband&#39;s involvement in the matter. John Majoras is a partner with Jones Day, the law firm that is advising DoubleClick on antitrust issues relating to the US$3.1 billion buyout. Jones Day representatives, including John Majoras, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.Chairman Majoras &quot;has previously recused herself in similar matters for similar reasons where there was a lesser conflict of interest,&quot; representatives of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) wrote in a complaint submitted to the U.S. regulator late Wednesday. &quot;It is clear that she must recuse herself now.&quot;The chairman is now reviewing the matter with the FTC&#39;s chief ethics officer, Christian White, but an FTC spokeswoman on Wednesday downplayed the possible conflict of interest. John Majoras&#39; law firm has not appeared before the FTC in this matter, according to FTC spokeswoman Claudia Farrell. &quot;We learned only yesterday that Jones Day is representing DoubleClick before the European Commission, not the Federal Trade Commission,&quot; she said.Even so, the Jones Day connection may have influenced FTC staffers or the chairman herself, said Jeff Chester, executive director with the CDD. &quot;There&#39;s no question that there&#39;s a stealth set of influences here that could have shaped the staff opinion,&quot; he said. &quot;We do not know what impact it might have on the chairman.&quot;Jones Day is advising DoubleClick on &quot;international and U.S. antitrust and competition law aspects of its planned $3.1 billion acquisition by Google,&quot; the law firm says in a note on its Web site.The deal has come under scrutiny from regulators in the U.S. and Europe who are examining whether it will give Google too much control over the Internet advertising market and too much data on the online behavior of its users.&#160;
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BRUSSELS, Belgium -- European Union regulators will decide before November whether to clear Google Inc.'s $3.1 billion takeover bid for online ad tracker DoubleClick or study the issue further.
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The FTC is taking a closer look at Google's latest catch.
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The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into Google's plan to purchase DoubleClick Inc. for $3.1 billion, The New York Times said.