Market Definition, Competition, and Privacy in the Google/DoubleClick Transaction

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Mark Seidman (Federal Trade Commission) & Christine Naglieri (Federal Trade Commission) discuss two of the key issues: market definition in the online advertising industry; and the interplay of competition and privacy concerns in their article Market Definition, Competition, and Privacy in the Google/DoubleClick Transaction.

ABSTRACT: On December 21, 2007, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) closed its investigation of Google Inc.’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick Inc. The merger and the Commission’s investigation attracted a great deal of public interest, and the matter presented several novel issues for antitrust practitioners and commentators. This article discusses two of the issues that generated much public discussion: 1. market definition in the nascent, dynamic online advertising industry; and 2. the interplay of competition and privacy concerns surrounding the accumulation of consumer data.