Much Ado About DoubleClick

MUCH ADO ABOUT DOUBLECLICK
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Catherine Holahan]
There was little doubt that the Federal Trade Commission would thoroughly investigate Google's planned acquisition of DoubleClick. Google's undisputed dominance of Web searches and the related $8 billion search-advertising market all but guaranteed scrutiny of any move capable of extending the search titan's online influence. The fact that DoubleClick places ads for many of the leading Web publishers made a government inquiry inevitable, say antitrust experts. But, there's even less doubt that the FTC will eventually sign off on the $3.1 billion deal. Even some who see red flags in the transaction don't seriously think it will be blocked. "We are not foolish enough to think the FTC will say you can't buy DoubleClick," says Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. His group is nonetheless concerned over the combination of the leading aggregator of information on who's searching for what on the Web with a company that tracks Web surfing behavior to help advertisers measure the effectiveness of their ads. Putting the two companies together leaves consumers' privacy at risk, Chester says. And he's hoping the scrutiny by Uncle Sam will result in some conditions placed on the transaction.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2007/tc20070529_360181...