By The Associated Press
Some of Google’s interactions with U.S. regulators:
— December 2007 — The Federal Trade Commission approves Google’s $3.2 billion purchase of Internet ad company DoubleClick, concluding after a nearly yearlong review that it won’t significantly reduce competition in online advertising. The FTC did not impose conditions. Google closed the deal three months later after getting EU regulatory approval.
— November 2008 — Google abandons a proposed Internet advertising partnership with Yahoo after the Justice Department said it would sue to block it to preserve competition in Internet advertising. Attorneys general from 15 states and Canada’s antitrust regulators had also loomed as potential adversaries.
Editor’s Note: The following report provides an overveiw from a legal perspective on the various types of information collections persons may receive from the FTC. The article is presented for informational purposes only and does not indicate any recommendations or advice from CRE/FTC Watch.org.
Joseph I. Rosenbaum and Rachel A. Rubin
Reed Smith LLP
On June 24, 2011, Google confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation against it. While the scope of the investigation has yet to be announced publicly, the FTC is likely investigating to determine whether Google has used its dominance in Internet search and advertising to stifle competition, and whether Google’s actions cause harm to consumers.
The attached report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) discusses the development of “internet imtermediaries” including search engines, portals, and the broad range of participative networked platforms such as social networking sites and wikis. The report concludes that:
Intermediaries create significant market efficiencies by bringing suppliers and demanders closer together, thus decreasing transaction costs such as the cost of searching for a buyer or a seller. They ensure that markets work better and create more competition as well as allow for a greater internationalisation of markets. Indeed, Internet intermediaries facilitated trade by allowing the expansion, aggregation and globalisation of markets as well as the customisation of goods and services. [Emphasis added.]
The attached study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Development Centre discusses the growing role of internet services in promoting social cohesion around thee globe in ways ranging from citizen participation in government to empowering women.
The report concludes that “policies should support innovation in the field to foster social cohesion.”
OECD-Web-Enabled Social Cohesion