Google’s Private Click
Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick, an internet advertising company, is raising widespread interest from the public, privacy activists and, of course, politicians. Backed by watchdogs including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), Congress will look into the “far-reaching privacy and competition issues raised by the proposed acquisition.”

While Congress publicly probes the potential deal, the career economists and attorneys at the Federal Trade Commission will also scrutinize the proposal. The planned Google acquisition presents legitimate questions about competition and consumer privacy that require serious study. The best way to resolve those issues is through a structured agency process closely governed by the “good government” laws, rather than through a politicized media-centric spectacle.