May 29, 2007 11:27 AM
Google Faces Two New Problems
The web’s leading search engine is facing yet again two controversies this week. First, it was an EU panel questioning the legality of the search engine’s 2 years retention limit of search user’s online information. The EU panel is probing whether Google is abiding by the requirements of the European data protection law. Google is yet to answer EU’s probe but promises to do so during the Panel’s next meeting in June.
After temporarily settling this issue, Google is again facing another trial, this time courtesy of the Federal Trade Commission opening a preliminary antitrust investigation on Google’s planned acquisition of Double Click, an online advertising company. This highly controversial deal has been receiving several planks from Google’s rivals and other companies concerned.
Some advocacy groups have filed complaints against Google’s planned acquisition of Double-Click saying that this will give the two companies more access to information about the internet activities of users than other companies.
Despite the rising complaints against the deal, Google officials are still confident that antitrust regulators would approve the said deal. Being the hard headed that they are Google officials know that this may just be another attempt at foiling possible Google domination of the online advertising market.
But as Don Harrison, a senior Google corporate counsel said:
“We are confident that upon further review the F.T.C. will conclude that this acquisition poses no risk to competition and should be approved,”
So, we will see in the coming days if the deal would push through and if the FTC will push through with the antitrust investigation and stop the deal from happening.
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