Google’s purchase of ad-serving company DoubleClick for £1.5 billion has come under fire from BEUC, the European consumers’ organisation.
MediaGuardian.co.uk quotes Cornelia Kutterer, BEUC’s senior legal adviser, as saying: “It is quite likely that it will be scrutinised by the EU’s anti-trust authorities. We are very worried and more and more so about the issue of data protection in online advertising.”
At the moment, the EU can assess a merger only on competition grounds. However, Kutterer wants to bring pressure on the commission to make privacy a key issue.
The deal is already being investigated by the US Federal Trade Commission following concerns raised about the deal (see Google DoubleClick Acquisition Under Investigation).
BEUC, which is 45% funded by the European Commission, represents 40 consumer rights groups from 14 countries within the EU.