Michael Zimmer.org

Despite complaints by leading privacy advocates, the long history of privacy concerns related to DoubleClick, explanations as to why privacy must be considered part of the anti-trust concerns, and concerns about possible links between the FTC commissioner and DoubleClick, the FTC has cleared Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick.
The FTC Statement on the Google-DoubleClick merger is here (PDF), where they conclude, with a 4-1 vote, that “After carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely to substantially lessen competition.”
On the privacy issue, the majority argues …

Google has posted a lengthy explanation as to why they’re buying Double Click. Feel free to read it, but here’s my thumbnail analysis:

Total word count = 2,279
Number of times “consumer” appears = 8
Number of times “money” or “monetize” appears = 6
Number of times “efficient” or “effective” appears = 6
Number of times “privacy” or “protect” appears = 0

Can you guess what is the focus of this deal?
Given the significant privacy concerns that surround this merger, you’d think Google would at least acknowledge the issue in their essay. Perhaps Peter Fleischer or …

Unfortunately (or fortunately) I’m much too busy right now to comment in detail on Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, especially in light of the bad track record DoubleClick has in terms of user privacy online (Philipp Lensenn has a good archive of their privacy troubles).
But one mention at the very end of Google’s FAQ (PDF) about the acquisition caught my eye:
Q. What are Google’s plans regarding privacy in the future?
A. Google has a history of being an advocate for user privacy. We continue to develop technologies that improve privacy …