Google’s Acquisition Of DoubleClick Approved By FTC

Google’s $3.1 billion mega-acquisition of ad serving company DoubleClick has passed Federal Trade Commission approval over the objections of everyone who doesn’t want Google to be successful. Despite Microsoft and other companies crying “antitrust!” and “monopoly!”, The FTC approved the deal with no conditions attached. The FTC determined that Google and DoubleClick are not competitors but rather companies that do business in different areas of the same industry.
The FTC also made an important distinction, reaffirming that privacy laws must be handled on an industry-wide basis, not be created for a single company. In other words, hopefully in the future, if there are concerns about privacy, a company like Google will not be singled out, but rather the entire industry will have to face the same regulations.
Valleywag notes that of the five commissioners who voted on the case, three of those who voted in favor of Google attended […]

Original post by Nathan Weinberg