Microsoft proposes review of Google buyout

Microsoft has reportedly said that Google’s proposed purchase of DoubleClick “raises antitrust and privacy concerns that deserve careful review by authorities.”

Published: 15 Apr 2007

Microsoft has reportedly said that Google’s proposed purchase of DoubleClick “raises antitrust and privacy concerns that deserve careful review by authorities.”

Microsoft contends that the $3.1 billion deal would hurt competition in the fast-growing market for advertising on the web and raises questions about how much personal information would be collected by Google, already a dominant player in online advertising.

Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said in an interview that Google’s purchase of DoubleClick would combine the two largest online advertising distributors and thus “substantially reduce competition in the advertising market on the Web.”

Executives at the software giant said they talked over the weekend with AT&T, AOL and Yahoo! about similar concerns. Microsoft had bid for DoubleClick but lost to Google. Spending on Internet advertising rose 17 percent last year from 2005, to $9.8 billion, far faster than advertising for traditional media, according to research firm TNS Media Intelligence.

“By putting together a single company that will control virtually the entire market ... Google will control the economic fuel of the Internet,” said Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith,.

Microsoft also raised concerns about the privacy of Internet users under a combined company. DoubleClick utilises a technology that remembers sites a user visits and serves up relevant ads; Google keeps data about searches conducted on its site.

Jim Cicconi, executive vice president of external and legislative affairs for AT&T, said his company is reviewing the deal.

“I don’t think AT&T is drawing a conclusion, per se, whether the transaction should or should not happen, but we do have sufficient concern and feel this deserves careful scrutiny from the government,” he reportedly said.

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