For some privateness advocate , Google ’s proposed $ 3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick represents a major threat .

secrecy groups such as Electronic Privacy Information Center ( EPIC ) and the Center for Digital Democracy ( CDD ) , which have raise red flags ever since Google announce its plan acquisition in mid - April , are find fresh support this calendar week . The acquisition would marry the leading net hunt supplier with a huge supplier of display advertising , a “ amalgamation of two No . 1s , ” said Jeffrey Chester , CDD ’s executive managing director .

On Tuesday , a group of 12 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives call for auditory sense on the fusion . The 12 sent a letter to Representative Bobby Rush , the popular chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee ’s Subcommittee on Commerce , Trade and Consumer Protection , saying they are relate over the privacy implications of the merger .

“ Google and DoubleClick would have one of the declamatory search inquiry databases with one of the world ’s enceinte online drug user behavioural visibility databases , ” said the letter of the alphabet , sign by Representative Cliff Stearns , of Florida , the senior Republican on the subcommittee , Representative Dennis Hastert , an Illinois Republican and former speaker of the House , and 10 others . “ The concealment logical implication of such a merger are tremendous and , without an in - profoundness examination , we and the American populace will not fully interpret what all of those implication are . ”

In addition to the congressional letter , the American Antitrust Institute , which generally opposes large mergers , released a stead newspaper publisher opposing the DoubleClick deal on rival grounds . The merger “ myopic circle what otherwise was shaping up to be a good for you competition between two grocery store - leading firm in each other ’s nitty-gritty market , ” the grouping said .

A Google spokesman suggested privacy concerns about on-line advertising are broad than the DoubleClick acquisition . Last workweek , at a U.S. Federal Trade Commission shop on on-line targeted advertising , FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz notice that an FTC review of the DoubleClick acquirement was rivet on competition issues , not privacy .

“ Google has take a number of manufacture - leading steps to improve privateness for our user , and the winner of the DoubleClick acquisition depends on our retaining our users ’ cartel , ” said Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich . “ We reckon that Congress would be better serve up by take an industriousness - wide look at the offspring , just as the FTC did at last hebdomad ’s townspeople hall . ”

substance abuser can access many Google religious service without logging in , and Google incessantly works on making its concealment policy easier to access and read , Wong enounce . Google recently postedvideoson YouTube explaining its privacy policy , she added .

“ Our users ’ reliance and their privacy are critical to our business , ” Wong said at the FTC shop . “ Our substance abuser are spare to pluck up and forget , and because of that , we have to work every twenty-four hours , on every product , to clear their trust and their business . ”

seclusion concerns about the DoubleClick deal are n’t go away , however .

CDD , EPIC and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group ( US PIRG ) file an11 - page complaintabout the Google - DoubleClick merger with the FTC April 20 . CDD and US PIRG file asupplemental complaintabout industry - wide seclusion practices on Thursday , as the FTC give its two - day workshop on online behavioural advertizement .

“ There are profound event to the effect of this passel , ” say CDD ’s Chester . “ We have to have safeguard here . ”

Google has largely deflect commenting on the specific complaints , which fall generally into three categories :

• Google and DoubleClick would confine a huge database of information about Internet users .

The attainment “ will give one company admittance to more information about the Internet activities of consumers than any other company in the world , ” CDD , EPIC and US PIRG said in their April complaint . “ Moreover , Google will operate with virtually no legal obligation to ensure the privacy , security measure , and truth of the personal data it collects . ”

Google functionary have in part quarrel those title by saying DoubleClick does n’t own information on users and by saying its anonymization of IP addresses after 18 month will protect privacy .

• second , privacy groups plain that Google is n’t transparent about what privacy information it compile . The April complaint noted that Google does not explain that it saves users ’ hunting term in connexion with their IP destination on its seclusion policy highlights pageboy , but Google does explain what information it garner in a link on that page . Google ’s superimposed privacy insurance policy is organized the way it is so that it ’s easy for reader to digest , Wong said .

Google test to make its privacy policies sound like they ’re not drop a line in lawyer - speak , she added . Her workplace on the privateness insurance was “ an exercise in originative writing I have n’t had since graduate school , ” she said .

• Finally , privacy advocates say DoubleClick has a record book of confutable information collection practices . EPIC , in February 2000 , filed an FTC complaint saying the ship’s company was illegally tail the online body process of Internet users with elaborated personal profiles contained in a interior marketing database . In March 2000 , DoubleClick issued a statement say the merged database was a fault . In January 2001 , the FTC reached an correspondence with DoubleClick , in which the troupe agreed to disclose its trailing practices and to allow users to prefer out of data collection .

CDD ’s Chester say he will go on to push the privacy matter with the FTC and with other governance functionary . CDD and US PIRG filed an FTC ailment a year ago on direct advertising in oecumenical , not focusing on Google .

But the DoubleClick mess ratchets up the problems , he said . “ The loser of Google to notice that the merger pose unequalled privacy concerns illustrates a existent shortfall … in Google ’s top management , ” he said . “ They do n’t even acknowledge that there is a greater privateness concern . ”