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AUSTIN, Texas - Representative Joe Barton of Texas, a senior lawmaker and member of the House  Energy and Commerce Committee currently looking into Mountain View, California-based Google's $3.1 billion purchase of New York-based online advertising company DoubleClick, has called the Internet search giant's response to requests from two of his aides "chilly" and "disconcerting," according to a letter Barton sent to Google's chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt. The Latest in a Series of Setbacks Since April, when Google agreed to purchase DoubleClick in order to strengthen its online advertising system, the acquisition has been met with questions regarding monopolization and privacy implications from both the European Trade Commission, which is currently conducting its second stage inquiry into the merger, and in the United States from the Federal Trade Commission, which Barton's Commerce Committee oversees as part of its Internet policy governance. Barton said Wednesday that requests from two of his aides for a visit to Google's headquarters had been rebuffed. Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said the company was "surprised" by the letter from Barton and is planning to arrange a visit to hold face to face talks regarding the Commerce Committee's investigation. In Washington on November 6 Barton met Schmidt to discuss the DoubleClick purchase and his concerns over the purchase's potential impact on consumer privacy, and has since requested a visit to Google's headquarters for further discussion. Google Schedule Conflicts Blamed Kovacevich said that Google was not able to meet with Mr. Barton's staff on November 27 and November 28  because the majority of its senior executives were in Florida at the Republican presidential debate performing duties related to YouTube, the Google-owned company which was one of the debate's sponsors. Google proposed a date after November 28 for Barton's staff to visit the company's "Googleplex" headquarters, Kovacevich said, however Barton's aides stated that they could not make the trip while the House was still in session. This was followed by an offer by Google for its executives to meet in Washington, according to Kovacevich. 24 Questions for Google Barton has asked Schmidt to respond by December 18 to a list of 24 detailed questions about his company's usage of customer information and how it would incorporate new consumer data from DoubleClick into it's privacy practices, which were included in the letter to Schmidt. Barton, who is the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, expressed additional concerns in the letter surrounding Google's consumer protection implications, and said that should the acquisition be approved he would expect DoubleClick to provide answers to the same 24 questions his staff have put to Google. Google's DoubleClick Response to Congressman "Chilly" Barton's letter to Schmidt states, "Your warm initial invitation followed by Google's chilly response to a proposed visit by committee counsels is disconcerting." Last month 12 Republican house members asked Representative Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat from Illinois and the chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, to investigate consumer privacy implications surrounding the DoubleClick acquisition, however Rush did not hold an investigation. A letter from Schmidt to Barton earlier this year said "our goal is to provide the benefits of online advertising in a way that protects our users' privacy." The deal has faced additional opposition from Google's rivals Microsoft and AT&T, which have stated approval of the acquisition would give Google too much power in the online advertising sales market. Google, which has claimed that the online advertising market is only a part of the larger advertising marketplace and not a special category itself, has said that it continues to expect that regulators will clear the deal before the end of the year. Related Links:
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9:05 pm on Dec. 13, 2007 (utc 0)