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Senators Review Google Offer For DoubleClick

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The Associated Press

Published: September 28, 2007

Updated: 09/27/2007 11:46 pm

WASHINGTON - Senators expressed no outright opposition to Google's $3.1 billion purchase of online advertising firm DoubleClick at a hearing focused on the deal's potential threats to competition and consumer privacy.

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of an antitrust subcommittee, said at the outset of Thursday's hearing that the transaction 'warrants close examination' by federal regulators. But afterward, he said there was 'no clear winner' among the deal's supporters and opponents - most notably Microsoft Corp.

Senators can't block the deal, but they can express their concerns to regulators.

But Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., appeared satisfied with a Sept. 25 letter from Google that committed to take 'important steps' to improve its privacy standards and promised the combined company would increase its jobs in New York.

An attorney for Microsoft, which sought to acquire DoubleClick, argued the deal would enable Google to 'become the overwhelmingly dominant pipeline for all forms of online advertising.'

The purchase also raised privacy issues because it would give Google 'sole control over the largest database of user information the world has ever known,' Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said.

Microsoft agreed this year to pay $6 billion for Seattle-based online advertising firm aQuantive and Yahoo bought Right Media for $680 million.

The Federal Trade Commission is reviewing whether the Google-DoubleClick combination would violate antitrust law. Consumer groups are pressing the agency to also scrutinize Google's privacy practices.

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