Google just can’t catch a break. The Old Gray Lady reports that federal investigators are looking into the search company’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick. The Federal Trade Commission is responding to complaints from several privacy advocacy groups that claim Google would have access to too much information if it bought DoubleClick. Intrigue!
With DoubleClick, Google would have additional clout in the world of advertising. Combining its methods of collecting personal data about you, it would then also be able to serve traditional banner and newer flash video ads thanks to DoubleClick. That’s what scares people.
I’m not exactly one of those “Google is teh devil!!1” people yet, but federal investigations don’t automatically mean someone is guilty. After all, if the movie Syriana is to be believed, then such an investigation could have just been launched to give the impression of due diligence. Though I guess it’s pretty safe to say Google isn’t exactly the Internet darling (to the Slashdot-type crowd) that it used to be, $8 zillion stock price notwithstanding.
Google Deal Said to Bring U.S. Scrutiny [New York Times]