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FTC Investigating Google-DoubleClick Deal
Posted by
Zonk
on Tue May 29, 2007 10:06 AM
from the somebody-attracted-somebody's-attention dept.
from the somebody-attracted-somebody's-attention dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The New York Times is covering FTC interest in Google's purchase of the DoubleClick service. The investigation is in response to privacy group concerns over the amount of information Google will have available to it via its ad service and DoubleClick. Between a few days and a week from now the FTC should either declare the all clear, or elevate the process to a 'second request' stage. That would indicate more serious issues the federal body has an interest in. Google stated it was confident the purchase would hold up under scrutiny. 'In the complaint, the groups noted that Google collects the search histories of its users, while DoubleClick tracks what Web sites people visit. The merger, according to their complaint, would give one company access to more information about the Internet activities of consumers than any other company in the world.'"
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TheCybernator writes to mention that several activist groups have cried out in protest of the Google buyout of Doubleclick reported in recent news. "'Google's proposed acquisition of DoubleClick will give one company access to more information about the Internet activities of consumers than any other company in the world,' said the complaint lodged with the Federal Trade Commission. 'Moreover, Google will operate with virtually no legal obligation to ensure the privacy, security, and accuracy of the personal data that it collects.' The complaint was filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center along with the Center for Digital Democracy and the US Public Interest Research Group, all of which are involved in online privacy issues."
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Google Experiences EU Antitrust Friction Over Doubleclick 62 comments
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Ian Lamont writes "Google is in the midst of a full-court privacy effort in Washington that involves pushing consumer privacy legislation in U.S. Congress, reaching out to privacy advocates in an effort to allay concerns about its acquisition of DoubleClick, and working with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to 'fine-tune online advertising principles' that the agency proposed last year. Google has been under fire in Washington in recent years — the FTC investigated the Google/DoubleClick deal and the EFF has issued warnings over Google services in the past. Is Google being sincere about these issues, or is this effort mostly paying lip service to its 'do no evil' policy and an attempt to head off future clashes with policy makers?"
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If your worried (Score:5, Informative)
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I can see people blocking DoubleClick... Google's another story. It's ubiquity means that even if the average user has some idea how to go about blocking them, they'll hesitate to.
Re:If your worried (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
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Not likely. It's much
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Re:If your worried (Score:4, Informative)
With a law.
How do you control what data they are allowed to store.
With a law.
Is yahoo somehow exempt from this because they receive less traffic?
No, Yahoo is exempt because they do not collect the same type of information. Laws only affect those who undertake the actions defined within the law.
The problem here is that how do you define too much, and what's the difference between google collecting a whole bunch of data, and your government census department collecting a whole bunch of data, and making it a crime if you don't respond to the census.
The difference is the law. Provisions for the census are in the US Constitution. It was the law of the land long before you were ever born and most likely long before your family even arrived here.
I mean, I know the
Who makes these determinations? The people we elect specifically for that purpose. This is why we have a congress. You can call them incompetent, you're free to dislike your representatives, but it's not like it's some big mystery who gets tasked with drafting laws in our governmental system. That is your congressperson's job. If you don't like the job they're doing, then vote for somebody else next time - but this is what they're there to do, and as long as they're there, you should use them.
I think there is also a tendency for some people to turn fairly simple questions of law into larger philosophical debates. I don't really understand the reason for that. If people don't like the fact that Google is going to be collecting all this data, then we should pressure our congress to draft a law that stops them or anyone else from doing it. It's really that simple. There's no point worrying about whether it would apply to one company or another or why it doesn't apply to government or whatever. Laws are designed to address practical and specific societal issues; they're not designed to address abstract philosophical ethical questions.
Parent
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The Census is required to ask you the following:
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We'd need enforcement to ensure compliance with said law, which means empowering th
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How? If the single company isn't an ISP then they aren't in cont
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CastrTroy wrote:If you're worried about how much data Google and doubleclick are collecting, ...
You'd be surprised what "innocuous" information can be used to your disadvantage. A notable example, from right after the birth-control pill was introduced, w
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And therein lies the problem. Enough people will not block Google et al. The Slashdot/tech will not be burdened by the fears of privacy because they are knowledgeable enough to prevent it. The general publ
I can see it now... (Score:3, Funny)
Suit 1:"So there's this new Google deal going down. Apparently some companies have their panties in a twist because of how much information Google will have."
Suit 2: "How much information are we talking about?"
Suit 3: "Well, Doubleclick catches a lot of web traffic information, browsing patterns, etc. and Google already mines tons of data..."
Suit 1 begins crunching some numbers. "Good God! We have to put a stop to this! Soon they'll know more than we do! That's it. I want the Board (from Google) in here now. They'll be more than happy to give us wha6t we wish. After all, it'd be a shame if something unfortunate happened..."
Weird wording (Score:3, Interesting)
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Litmous test (Score:3, Insightful)
If not then this deal should be fine. If so, well they better be able to prove why... with precedents like Microsoft still around, it'll be a hard sell.
So.. who's number one right now? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Well I think its more like right now Double click and Google have roughly the same "amount" of information, but s
Well, no wonder (Score:4, Insightful)
I would like to see a FTC stipulation that after infromation has been "aged", it should be deleted. I doubt though that in these paranoid times it will happen though, so I can only say keep on lying and use TOR etc if you don't like the prying eyes.
As far as google not being evil. They are a business.
I'm not worried... (Score:2)
Gotta love corporate tools.
How about credit bureaus? (Score:2)
The merger, according to their complaint, would give one company access to more information about the Internet activities of consumers than any other company in the world.'"
If that's enough to tank the merger, then Experian, Transunion, and Equifax shoul
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Completely false, have you ever seen a credit report? They basically show available credit vs credit used for each account as well as the status of the account and any delinquencies. Theres maybe 10 fields total for each account. Nothing even close to a l
Oh no! (Score:3, Funny)
90% of DoubleClick's responses are people clicking on ads with boobies
Combined together, they'll know that 90% of internet users want to find booies! That's just too much power for one company to have!
My response to the doubleclick deal (Score:4, Informative)
127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 m.doubleclick.net
127.0.0.1 img.x10.com
127.0.0.1 ads.x10.com
127.0.0.1 www.x10.com
127.0.0.1 x10.com
127.0.0.1 ads.addynamix.com
127.0.0.1 leadgreed.com
127.0.0.1 www.leadgreed.com
127.0.0.1 c1.zedo.com
127.0.0.1 ad.trafficmp.com
127.0.0.1 media.adcentriconline.com