Yahoo makes its Google search advertising agreement public

Yahoo on Friday released a copy of its controversial search advertising partnership agreement with Google, marking the first time details of the deal have been made publicly available. However, it is heavily redacted. The agreement was included as an exhibit to Yahoo's quarterly financial statement, which the Internet search pioneer filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the agreement, Yahoo will serve up Google's advertisements alongside its own search results. Yahoo has previously said it does not believe its open-ended deal is anticompetitive, citing it is under no obligation to run a certain number of Google's ads, or give its competitor's ads favorable placement on its search results pages. Microsoft, however, contends the deal is anticompetitive in that it pushes two of the top three players in the Internet search advertising market together. And in addition to the antitrust issues, legislators have raised concerns about potential privacy concerns regarding the search advertising partnership.