The Web site of a law business firm employ the husband of U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras contradicts an FTC account that Majoras has no difference of sake in reviewing DoubleClick ’s $ 3.1 billion acquisition by Google , two privacy group said Thursday .
On Wednesday , theElectronic Privacy Information Center(EPIC ) and theCenter for Digital Democracy(CDD ) asked Majoras to recuse herself from the merger review , enounce her husband , John Majoras , is a spouse with Jones Day , the law house that is advising DoubleClick on antitrust issue relating to the acquisition .
DoubleClick and the FTC have deny that Jones Day has represent the party before the FTC .
But on Thursday , EPIC and CDD file a second complaint with the FTC , showing acached connection pageclaiming that Jones Day is advising DoubleClick “ on the external and U.S. antimonopoly and competition legal philosophy aspects of its plan $ 3.1 billion acquisition by Google Inc. ” The Jones Day entanglement pageboy was subsequently changed , the chemical group pronounce .
EPIC and CDD said Thursday they were filing a Freedom of Information Act request seeking all records on the relationship between Jones Day and DoubleClick .
One conclusion to draw is that “ Jones Day has seek to hold back the nature , range and duration of the human relationship with its client DoubleClick by change web Thomas Nelson Page , ” said a missive signed by executive directors of both organizations . FTC spokespeople who abnegate the kinship were “ either misinformed or willfully misled the public , ” the letter sound out .
An FTC spokeswoman declined to comment on the newfangled complaint . voice of Jones Day and DoubleClick were n’t immediately available for comment .
The FTC and DoubleClick understate the connection Wednesday , saying Jones Day has not advise DoubleClick on matters before the FTC . Instead , Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has been DoubleClick ’s outside counsel since July of 2005 and has send word it in matters before the FTC , DoubleClick said in a statement .
“ Jones Day was not engaged to represent , and has not map DoubleClick before the Federal Trade Commission or appeared before the commission on DoubleClick ’s behalf , ” the society pronounce .
In April , EPIC , CDD and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group ( US PIRG ) asked the FTC to stop Google ’s acquisition of DoubleClick unless the combined company made changes to its privacy practices . The combined company would hold a vast amount of private information on internet users , the group say .
