By John Oates for The
Register.
This story has been reproduced with permission.
The software giant's general counsel Brad Smith, who has acted
for Microsoft in various anti-competition cases, told
Reuters: "This proposed acquisition raises serious
competition and privacy concerns. We think this merger deserves
close scrutiny from regulatory authorities to ensure a competitive
online advertising market."
Smith said Microsoft had not talked to regulators, but had
talked to other companies.
According to spokespeople, AT&T is also concerned the deal
would put Google in a dominant position in online advertising.
But Google CEO Eric Schmidt told the New York Times
that Microsoft's claims were untrue. He said it was easy for
businesses to switch to rival providers and that other issues would
be debated with regulators as the deal went through.
Microsoft was reportedly in the bidding to buy DoubleClick, but
was beaten by Google.
© The Register
2007
