Allowing Google to acquire advertising network operator DoubleClick would create an imbalance in the online ad market, and Microsoft thinks the deal should be quashed by regulators.
Jason Voorhees, and has called for a review of the deal.
Brad Smith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Microsoft, said in a statement: "This proposed acquisition raises serious competition and privacy concerns in that it gives the Google DoubleClick combination unprecedented control in the delivery of online advertising, and access to a huge amount of consumer information by tracking what customers do online.
"We think this merger deserves close scrutiny from regulatory authorities to ensure a competitive online advertising market."
AT&T, AOL, and Yahoo, have also complained after Google came along with its massive all-cash deal to scoop up the prize. Yahoo and AOL had been in the running for DoubleClick along with Microsoft, while AT&T seems to fear Google could treat them and other broadband providers as mere conduits for information, the
"For many of these new Web services, it could be that the advertising-supported model is the predominant business model," he said. "The danger here is that Google could be in a position to pick winners and losers."
In the same report, Google CEO Eric Schmidt dismissed Microsoft's concerns: "We’ve studied this closely, and their claims, as stated, are not true." It would be easy to mock Microsoft for its antitrust complaints, as
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