(emdot photo credit) The Google-Doubleclick merger is not yet complete. While it seems likely that the merger will go through, it’s not a layup – the FTC in late May took the process to “second request” phase. And not surprisingly, in response Google has been quite active lately with regards to the policy issues that frame the FTC’s decision (more on the process in my coverage here).
The most recent sign? A post on Google’s public policy blog, pointing to Google’s public comments on the FTC’s Town Hall meeting on the subject of online advertising, to be held in early November.
The big elephant in the room? Privacy. And, FOG. (Fear of Google). From Google’s post:
Of course, we continue to focus our attention on the privacy of our users, and privacy ought to be an important component of the Town Hall. We recognize that user, advertiser, and website publisher trust is critical to the success of our business, and we’ve taken a number of recent steps to help bolster our already strong privacy policies. We also think our acquisition of DoubleClick provides an opportunity for us to bolster privacy even further. (emphasis mine)
Well, this won’t help (from ars):
The Electronic Privacy Information Center has questioned the adequacy of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Privacy Framework, the same framework Google proposed last week that should serve as the basis for international privacy standards.
This on the heels of further EPIC and other group’s opposition, detailed here.
Past coverage of the story here.
in its high profile stable of acquisitions, double click may prove to be the most lucrative. by increasing the “credible air” of google, double click can take the pang out of some there other questionable buys