Feds Looking Into Google Deal...Because of Microsoft?
Anybody with even a feeble sense of irony will have to chuckle at least a little
bit at this one: The Federal Trade Commission is looking into the
possible
antitrust ramifications of Google's proposed purchase of DoubleClick. (This
doubles Google's investigation trouble, as the ever-nosy European Union is
sniffing
around about privacy matters.)
But that's not where the irony comes in. Oh, no. If we're to believe the little
hints dropped here
and there
in the press, one of the main motivating factors behind the FTC's extended probe
might very well have been a significant
amount of complaining by...Microsoft.
That's right. The convicted monopolist and losing bidder for DoubleClick might
have actually spurred the government to look into somebody
else's potentially monopolistic practices. We have to say, though, that
we don’t really see Microsoft’s point here (if it did complain to
the feds), especially given that Redmond surely believes that its recent
acquisition of aQuantive will set up some sort of competition for a Google-DoubleClick
combo.
Or maybe it just shows how desperate Microsoft is to catch Google in online
advertising, a market in which the relative newcomer from California has been
eating Redmond's lunch. In any case, as much as we've defended
Microsoft's business practices here in the past, it is pretty funny to hear
the pickpocket complain about being robbed and see the cops spring into action
-- metaphorically speaking, of course.
What's your take on Microsoft complaining about somebody else's potential antitrust
violations? Drop me a line at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on May 30, 2007