You are here: silicon.com > Networks > WebWatch

WebWatch

Microsoft slams Google-Yahoo! ad deal

Choice, competition and privacy at stake, says Redmond

Tags: search, advertising, yahoo, google

By Tim Ferguson

Published: 16 July 2008 13:00 BST

Microsoft has said the proposed deal between Google and Yahoo! could have a negative impact on competition, consumer choice and privacy.

In a congressional testimony regarding the deal, the general counsel for Microsoft, Brad Smith, questioned the legality of the tie-up.

The Gates era ends for Microsoft

Bill Gates' legacy: A modern day Henry Ford

Photos: Bill Gates through the ages

In his own words: Bill Gates' best quotes

Microsoft's future in the post-Bill Gates era

Photos: Top 5 Bill Gates moments

Bill Gates' legacy hailed by IT chiefs

Five ways Microsoft could change after Gates

How many people will it take to fill Gates' shoes?

Bill Gates on the future, the past and the brilliance of fertilizer…

The deal would allow Yahoo! to use Google's advertising technology with Google ads appearing next to Yahoo! search results in Canada and the US.

Smith said if search is regarded as the gateway to the internet then this deal would put Google in "a position to own that gateway and the information that flows through it".

According to Smith this would allow Google to have a complete picture of people's online activities, raising concerns around privacy.

"If that happens, Congress won't need to enact a federal privacy policy, we will already have a national privacy policy - Google's privacy policy," Smith added.

In addition, Smith said never before has one company been in a position to control prices on 90 per cent of advertising in a single medium and it shouldn't happen on the internet.

He said the $800m Yahoo! estimates the deal could generate will come out of the pockets of US businesses as they will be forced to pay higher prices for ads they already buy from Yahoo!.

Smith testified to the US Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust and the House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Task Force, both of which are looking at the implications of the deal.

Yahoo! recently rejected a joint bid from Microsoft and investor Carl Icahn for its search business. Microsoft also tabled an unsuccessful bid for Yahoo! back in February.

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure
Read and write about internet access at the airports of the world at atlarge.com. Rate airports, and see what others have to say...


  • Jobs
Lead Software Developer

The position is to provide technical leadership across our team members and customers at all stages of the project lifecycle - from initial bid and ...

Procurement Consultant, Procurement Manager- SME Growth Consultancy

To assist SMEs in their efforts to bid for and win new contracts, for example using your existing knowledge of procurement to help them improve the ...

Junior Publisher Account Manager

Yahoo! ve continued to build innovative and imaginative experiences that are uniquely Yahoo! Today, across the globe, over 550 million people use ...

Agenda Setters 2008
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: