FTC oks Google deal, issues guidelines.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis - Federal Trade Commission

In late December, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved search engine Google's controversial merger with online marketing giant DoubleClick and simultaneously released voluntary privacy guidelines for online advertising practices.

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The Google/DoubleClick merger is "unlikely to substantially lessen competition" in the online advertising the FFC said, but the agency seemed to have qualms about how the deal may impact Internet users' privacy. The agency's proposed guidelines for online advertising, "Behavioral Advertising: Moving the Discussion Forward to Possible Self-Regulatory Principles," would allow advertisers to regulate themselves in terms of tracking Internet users and their habits.

Consumer watchdogs have railed against Google's $3.1 billion deal to purchase DoubleClick since it was announced last year, not only for competitive reasons but also because of the sheer volume of personal information that Google would control if the deal went through.

"Information is the equivalent of what oil and steel and railroads were in the previous century" Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, told the New York Times. "The FTC sanctioned Google to become an even more powerful company in collection and usage of consumers' data."

The voluntary privacy guidelines released by the FTC are directed at the practice of online "behavioral advertising," or aiming ads at people based on their actions while online. The proposal points out that behavioral advertising gives consumers free content and personalized ads, but many consumers are unaware that their information is being collected.

According to the guidelines, websites should explain clearly that data is collected for targeted advertising and allow consumers to choose whether they want their...