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Google Buys DoubleClick After EU Signs Off

Regulators cite Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft as 'credible' competitors

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 11, 2008 4:25 PM CDT

(Newser) – Google acquired ad tracker DoubleClick today after EU regulators approved the $3.1 billion deal, the AP reports. Antitrust officials dismissed concerns about competition, saying Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL also provide “credible” online ad services. The ruling ducked questions of how private data will be handled, an issue that riles privacy advocates on both sides of the pond.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt hailed the move, saying that with DoubleClick, Google will speed innovation and user targeting in advertising. An EU probe into Google’s use of private data is pending, but American privacy advocates have slammed Europe for aiding "a growing digital colossus that will shape much of the global future of the Internet." US regulators approved the DoubleClick purchase in December.

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

The European Union has cleared Google for the purchase of DoubleClick. (Wikimedia Commons)

The logo of Google, seen on the front door of the new Google Engineering center in Zurich, Switzerland, in this March 6, 2008 file photo. Google Inc. on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 said it has taken control... (Associated Press)

In this photo illustration the Google logo is reflected in the eye of a girl on February 3, 2008 in London, England. (Getty Images)

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Google Buys DoubleClick After EU Signs Off