Antitrust group urges limits on Google, Yahoo deal

Google and Yahoo's deal to let Google place some ads on Yahoo's search pages, which the Justice Department is reviewing, should be allowed with limits, the American Antitrust Institute said on Tuesday. Because the search advertising market is already extremely concentrated with Google by far the dominant firm, the institute argued that consumers would be best served if No. 2 Yahoo remained independent. "Prohibiting Yahoo from using Google ads could result in Yahoo's acquisition by Microsoft, which would effectively remove Yahoo from the market," wrote Norman Hawker, who teaches at Western Michigan University and is a fellow at the AAI.