FTC Investigation of Google-DoubleClick Merger May Have to Conflict of Interest

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras continues to review the controversial Google-DoubleClick merger despite requests for her to step down. The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a petition with the FTC last week demanding removal of Majoras from the investigation, citing a conflict of interest. The reason: Majoras' husband works for law firm Jones Day , which represents DoubleClick in the antitrust case in Europe. In her defense, Majoras said that her husband is a non-equity partner at Jones Day and does not have any financial interest in the firm's income. Majoras also said that her husband did not represent any party in the Google-DoubleClick matter. Both petitioners were reportedly dissatisfied with Majoras' statement. Google announced its plans to acquire DoubleClick in April 2007. The proposed $3.1 billion merger is currently under scrutiny by U.S. and European regulators to ensure that it doesn't violate antitrust and competition laws.

If this article has helped you in some way, will you say thanks by sharing it through a share, like, a link, or an email to someone you think would appreciate the reference.

Popular tags:

Europe United States Federal Trade Commission DoubleClick Center for Digital Democracy investigations mergers Google-DoubleClick