Congress to Examine Google-DoubleClick Deal

CONGRESS TO EXAMINE GOOGLE-DOUBLECLICK DEAL
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Miguel Helft]
Google executives are expected to be called to testify before House and Senate subcommittees about the company’s planned $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, a deal that is already facing close scrutiny from federal antitrust regulators. Within days of the deal’s announcement in April, companies including Microsoft, AT&T and some in the advertising industry, began to complain that the merger of Google and DoubleClick would limit competition in the online advertising market. Privacy groups, meanwhile, voiced concerns about the deal’s impact on consumer privacy. In May, the Federal Trade Commission began an investigation into the proposed merger. Now, a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to call a hearing to explore the antitrust and privacy issues raised not only by the Google deal but also by recent consolidation in the online advertising market, according to a person familiar with the planned hearing. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee subcommittee on consumer protection, said he had opened an investigation into the privacy and competition issues raised by the Google-DoubleClick deal and also planned to call a hearing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/technology/19google.html
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