November 20, 2007

Senators Kohl and Hatch Urge 'Serious Scrutiny' of Proposed Google Merger

Two U.S. senators on the antitrust subcommittee urged the Federal Trade Commission's chairman to submit Google Inc's purchase of advertising company DoubleClick to "serious scrutiny." Sen. Herb Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, argued that Google had a dominant position in a form of Internet advertising called contextual ads while DoubleClick was a market leader in display advertising. They said industry experts believed the deal could harm competition on the Web. Kohl and Hatch also raised questions about privacy implications since both Google and DoubleClick collect information about Web usage.

Lawmakers urge Google/DoubleClick deal scrutiny, Reuters, November 19, 2007.