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.

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