FTC: Google darf Doubleclick kaufen

By: Felix, 8 months

Die Federal Trade Commission hat Google ihr Ok gegeben: Google darf Doubleclick kaufen. Somit steht dem Deal zwischen dem Suchmaschinenriesen Google und dem grossen Adserving Anbieter Doubleclick nichts mehr im Wege. Zumindest in den USA.

REUTERS:

Google wins U.S. antitrust OK to buy Doubleclick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday approved Google's (NasdaqGS:GOOG - News) $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, saying the much-criticized deal did not pose a threat to competition in Internet advertising.

The deal, which combines Google's dominance in pay-per-click Internet advertising with DoubleClick's market-leading position in flashier display ads, still faces scrutiny from European antitrust officials, who opened a four-month review in mid-November.
In a 4-1 vote, the FTC decided to end its eight-month investigation of the transaction. "After carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely to substantially lessen competition," the commission's majority wrote in a statement.
Critics of the combination, first announced in April, had said it could give Google too much control over online advertising and threaten Internet users' privacy.
Parallel with the announcement of the merger's approval, the FTC proposed a set of behavioral marketing principles to guide self-regulation in that evolving business.
Behavioral advertising involves tracking a consumer's activities online, including Web searches and sites visited, to target advertisements to individual interests.
Regarding the DoubleClick deal, Google said it hoped the European Commission would reach the same conclusion as the FTC. "This acquisition poses no risk to competition and will benefit consumers," Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a statement.
A privacy group that opposed the deal said the FTC failed to protect Americans who use the Internet.
"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," said Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy.
"The excuse offered by the majority of the commission -- that consumer privacy can't be addressed by current antitrust law -- reveals a lack of leadership and determination to protect U.S. consumers," Chester added.

DISSENTING OPINION

The dissenting FTC vote came from Pamela Jones Harbour, a political independent who said the acquisition might substantially lessen competition.
"If the commission closes its investigation at this time, without imposing any conditions on the merger," she wrote, "neither the competition nor the privacy interests of consumers will have been adequately addressed."
Commissioner Jon Leibowitz, a Democrat, voted with the majority, but in a separate opinion, he cited "serious" privacy and vertical-competition issues.
The merger, which Australia and Brazil have already approved, is part of a rapid consolidation within the Internet advertising industry.
In recent months, Microsoft Corp (NasdaqGS:MSFT - News) bought aQuantive for $6 billion, Yahoo Inc (NasdaqGS:YHOO - News) bought BlueLithium for $300 million and Time Warner Inc's (NYSE:TWX - News) AOL unit bought Tacoda for an undisclosed amount.
Google's pay-per-click ads, which are based on a computer user's searches, are usually in the form of text and shown on the right-hand side of the screen.
Many corporate advertisers prefer display ads, the area where DoubleClick specializes.
The Center for Digital Democracy unsuccessfully asked FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras to recuse herself from considering the deal because her husband works for a law firm representing DoubleClick before European regulators.
Google shares were up $5.83, or nearly 1 percent, at $683.20 in morning Nasdaq trade