EU gives Google and Doubleclick a rough ride

WHILE THE FTC in the US has courted controversy in its investigateion of the Google and Doubleclick merger by using lawyers who are linked to one or other of the companies, it looks like the EU is set to give the deal a hard time.

According to Associated Press, the EU is leaning on its investigators to look really hard at the deal, particularly in relation to the loss of privacy that users might suffer.

It is unusual for the EU to step in this way and seems to have been the result of lobbying from privacy groups.

The US FTC has said that it will look at privacy problems arising from the deal, but the EU officials normally just look at the economics.

The Commission launched an in-depth probe into the deal, saying they needed more time to look at how combining "the leading providers" of online advertising space and services and ad-serving technology could reduce competition and ultimately harm consumers.

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