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AUSTIN, Texas - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission gave its approval to Mountain View, California-based  Internet search leader Google's $3.1 billion purchase of top online advertising company DoubleClick, saying that the deal was "unlikely to substantially lessen competition" among online advertisers, and shifting focus to the remaining European regulatory investigations the merger faces. Coming nine months after the search firm agreed to buy DoubleClick, the FTC announcement of its 4-1 antitrust decision (.PDF file) came despite opposition from online rights advocacy groups and rivals such as Microsoft and AT&T. Privacy Recommendations Released Simultaneously Along with the announcement the commission published voluntary privacy recommendations for online advertising companies that suggest consumers be allowed to choose whether they want their Web activity tracked. In Europe the merger is presently facing an extended investigation by the European Union Commission, after the agency decided in November that the deal required more than the initial investigation it began earlier this year, and a decision from the commission is expected by April 2. In Europe, where personal privacy is girded by greater legal protection than in the U.S., the deal is facing greater scrutiny due in part to the nearly 90 percent market share a combined Google-DoubleClick powerhouse would have in some European markets according to some estimates. Presently the EU Commission is not looking into privacy concerns relating to the merger, despite urging from consumer groups, and is instead focusing on its potential effects on market share and pricing. The FTC said that it too had only taken in to account antitrust concerns during its investigation. Watchdog groups such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy concerned with personal privacy issues in both the U.S. and Europe have sought to stop the merger, which would place vast amounts of personal information in the hands of a single company holding top positions in both Internet search and advertising, a practice seen as potentially dangerous by the groups. Google Clears Final U.S. Hurdle in DoubleClick Purchase CDD's executive director Jeff Chester sees an inseparable link between online privacy and competition. "In the  21st century, concerns about privacy and competition are inextricably linked because information is the digital gold of the Internet," Chester said in a recent article in the New York Times. "Information is the equivalent of what oil and steel and railroads were in the previous century. Today the FTC. sanctioned Google to become an even more powerful company in collection and usage of consumers’ data," Chester added. Some see the FTC's release of online privacy guidelines at the same time it announced its decision as a sign that the commission has concerns about the privacy implications of the merger it approved. Cornelia Kutterer is a senior legal advisor to Bureau European des Unions de Consommateurs, an organization that oversees 30 European consumer advocacy groups, and told the Times the timing of the release of the guidelines shows that the EU commission should take heed. "By issuing these guidelines now, it proves that they couldn’t get around the issue of privacy. This is a way of showing the commission there is a link," Kutterer said. Google Pleased with "No Conditions" Decision David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer and senior vice president of corporate development, wrote in a  post on the company's official blog that the FTC's decision is "obviously excellent news for both companies," while also noting of the FTC privacy guidelines that Google is "studying these proposals carefully." Of the European Commission, the only remaining hurdle to closing the acquisition, Drummond wrote "we are cooperating fully with the EC and hopeful that they will soon reach the same conclusion as their U.S. counterparts," and also highlighted a portion of the FTC's decision showing that the merger won't pose any anticompetitive problems. "At bottom, the concerns raised by Google’s competitors regarding the integration of these two data sets -- should privacy concerns not prevent such integration -- really amount to a fear that the transaction will lead to Google offering a superior product to its customers," Drummond wrote, most likely referring to rival Microsoft, which in the spring purchased DoubleClick's main rival, aQuantive in a deal worth $6 billion. One Dissenting Opinion The one dissenting opinion (.PDF file) at the commission came from Pamela Jones Harbour, who noted that the online advertising market is too young to know just how the deal might affect competition or consumer privacy. "I dissent because I make alternative predictions about where this market is heading, and the transformational role the combined Google/DoubleClick will play if the proposed acquisition is consummated," Harbour wrote. "If the commission closes its investigation at this time, without imposing any conditions on the merger, neither the competition nor the privacy interests of consumers will have been adequately addressed," she added. CDD's Chester shares Harbour's concerns, noting in an email that the 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." He also expressed fears that a potentially monopolizing giant could be created due to the FTC's approval of the merger. "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," Chester said. Google owns popular video sharing Web site YouTube. The deal won't be finalized until the European Commission releases its findings in April. Related Links:
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5:41 pm on Dec. 21, 2007 (utc 0)