Since announcing plans to buy DoubleClick 3 months ago, Google has been under fire from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) and Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, in what is described by some as the first serious challenge to Google in the history of its business. A hearing is set to be held by the U.S. House of Representatives in the Fall to address consumer privacy and anti-competitive issues. But the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to schedule its own hearing even sooner, sometime toward the end of next week.

On Tuesday, Scott Cleland, founder and president of Precursor LLC, an industry research and consulting firm, released a 35-page white paper addressing his reasons for concern over what he believes to be a monopoly in the making if Google merges with DoubleClick, claiming that Google/DoubleClick would have access to huge amount of personal information and banks in both the United States and United Kingdom.

Google has pointed out in addition to recent acquisitions by Yahoo!, AOL and other companies, their acquisition of DoubleClick, "...will benefit consumers, improve privacy, and promote competition, and that it will ultimately be approved by the Federal Trade Commission." But Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy, disagrees, suggesting that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may block the merger of Google and DoubleClick, despite Yahoo! finishing its own purchase of Right Media, which is not being blocked or apparently addressed by those who oppose Google's acquisition.


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