Google’s purchase of ad-serving company DoubleClick for £1.5 billion has come under fire from BEUC, the European consumers’ organisation.
BEUC has asked the EU competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, to investigate the deal, which could lead to Google being forced to divest large parts of its operations if it is found to be in breach of European regulations.
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.
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