US clears Google buyout of online ad giant DoubleClick
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US regulators Thursday cleared a plan by Google to acquire online advertising giant DoubleClick, which had sparked concerns about privacy risks and still faces a challenge in the European Union.
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Internet search leader Google Inc.   is open to new acquisitions and remains hopeful it can  close the $3.1 billion purchase of Web ad supplier DoubleClick  by end-2007 despite a U.S. federal probe, its CEO said on  Wednesday.
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EBay says it is ending its ad pullout from Google's U.S. AdWords network.
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By KELLY OLSEN  SEOUL, South Korea - Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said Wednesday that U.S. regulatory approval of his company's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick will not be hindered by concerns over privacy.
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InfoWorld - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will not try to block Google's acquisition of online ad-serving vendor DoubleClick, the agency said Thursday.
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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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(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 Australian competition regulator  said on Tuesday it would not block the $3.1 billion acquisition  by Google Inc of DoubleClick Inc, a U.S. Web advertising  supplier.
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InfoWorld - A European consumer group has complained that Google&#39;s proposed acquisition of online ad broker DoubleClick could hurt privacy rights due to the massive amount of data the companies would hold.
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The F.T.C. has opened an antitrust investigation into Googleâs planned $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick.
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InfoWorld - The U.S. government still needs to block or impose conditions on Google&#39;s acquisition of online advertising server DoubleClick, despite Google&#39;s call for global privacy standards, three privacy groups said Monday.
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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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EBay has pulled all of its paid search ads from Google AdWords network in the U.S inÂ an eyebrow-raising move likely to be interpreted in the industry as a sign of deteriorating relations between the two Internet giants.
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Online auction site eBay has pulled its ads from Google's U.S. search engine site after Google scheduled a party for attendees of eBay's conference in Boston.
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US regulators approve Google's $3.1bn  takeover of online advertising firm Doubleclick.
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A US congressional subcommittee is investigating Google Inc.'s $3.1 billion purchase of online advertising company DoubleClick Inc. , the panel's chairman said.
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A federal judge ruled in Google&#39;s favor yesterday in the first US court ruling that search engines can sell advertising triggered by trademarked terms.