Federal Trade Commission Closes Google/DoubleClick Investigation

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION CLOSES GOOGLE/DOUBLECLICK INVESTIGATION
[SOURCE: Federal Trade Commission press release]
The Federal Trade Commission announced that it will not seek to block Google’s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of Internet advertising server DoubleClick Inc. In a 4-1 vote to close its eight-month investigation of the transaction, the Commission wrote in its majority statement that “after carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely to substantially lessen competition.” Although interested parties have raised concerns about the proposed acquisition’s impact on consumer privacy, the Commission observed that such issues are “not unique to Google and DoubleClick,” and “extend to the entire online advertising marketplace.” The Commissioners further wrote that “as the sole purpose of federal antitrust review of mergers and acquisitions is to identify and remedy transactions that harm competition,” the FTC lacks the legal authority to block the transaction on grounds, or require conditions to this transaction, that do not relate to antitrust. Adding, however, that it takes consumer privacy issues very seriously, the Commission cross-referenced its release of a set of proposed behavioral marketing principles that were also announced.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/12/googledc.shtm

* Google wins U.S. antitrust OK to buy DoubleClick
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSWBT00810620071220
* Regulators greenlight Google-DoubleClick (Associated Press)
http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/20/news/companies/google_doubleclick.ap/ind...
* FTC: We won't block Google-DoubleClick merger
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9836456-7.html
* FTC approves Google/DoubleClick deal
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/20/FTC-approves-Google-DoubleClic...
* FTC Clears Google to Buy DoubleClick
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119816037782142427.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
* FTC approves Google deal despite privacy concerns
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-google21dec21,1,13949...
* Google gets OK on $3.1B purchase
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20071221/1b_google21.art.htm

* Google's Ad Reach May Be Unrivaled
Google may create an advertising powerhouse of unrivaled reach and knowledge of Internet users' lives, desires and interests. The acquisition of DoubleClick combined with Google's search function and the data it collects from people as they use the Internet could result in Web surfers seeing more advertising that corresponds to their online activities. The trade-off, some say, is that users would lose control over more of their private information to Google.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/20/AR200712...
(requires registration)

* F.T.C. Approves DoubleClick Deal
In tandem with the announcement, the agency released voluntary privacy guidelines for companies like Google that are in the business of aiming ads at people based on their actions on the Web. The gist of the guidelines was that the entire advertising industry should work together to give consumers more choice about whether they want to be tracked. [see FTC press release]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/business/21adco.html?ref=todayspaper

* Center for Digital Democracy: "The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sidestepped its responsibility today when it approved the merger of two companies whose new, extended data-collection reach will give it unprecedented access to track our every move throughout the digital landscape. By permitting Google to combine the personal details, gleaned from our searches online and YouTube downloads, with the vast repository of information collected by DoubleClick, the FTC has sanctioned the creation of a new digital data colossus. The FTC is supposed to protect the privacy of Americans in the digital age. The excuse offered by the majority of the commission­that consumer privacy can't be addressed by current antitrust law­reveals a lack of leadership and determination to protect U.S. consumers. It’s clear that this merger—and the ones that follow -- will be about companies creating the twenty-first-century’s equivalent of railroad, steel, and oil monopolies in the past. Monopolistic control over consumer data is both anti-competitive and a threat to privacy."
http://www.democraticmedia.org/jcblog/?p=432

* EU group says Google-DoubleClick deal will harm privacy
European consumer groups warned the European Commission Thursday that Google's plan to take over the online advertising company DoubleClick, currently under investigation, would erode consumers' privacy and would push up prices for online goods and services. In a letter to competition commissioner Neelie Kroes, BEUC, the pan-European Union consumer group, together with three national associations, urged the Commission to use its powers to block the deal in its current form.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/20/EU-says-Google-DoubleClick-dea...

* Google's DoubleClick deal brings greater focus on privacy
[SOURCE: InfoWorld 12/21/07, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/21/Googles-DoubleClick-deal-bring...