WASHINGTON, DC — Consumer Watchdog and the
Center for Digital Democracy today called on the Federal Trade
Commission to investigate Google’s announced plan to buy Invite Media, a
display advertising company, for around $70 million, saying the deal
raises substantial competitive and privacy concerns.

“The ink is hardly dry on Google’s questionable AdMob acquisition,”
said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate for the nonprofit, nonpartisan
group, “and the Internet giant is forging ahead with an insatiable
appetite for more. When is enough, enough?”

Simpson and the Center for Digital Democracy’s Jeff Chester said that
combining Invite Media’s database with the information Google gathered
though the $750 million AdMob deal and the earlier DoubleClick
acquisition raised substantial privacy concerns. The deals give Google
unprecedented access to consumers’ personal data. The Invite purchase
appears to be anticompetitive, they said.

“The FTC blinked in the face of Google’s Washington clout on the
AdMob deal,” said Simpson. “It’s time for the Commissioners to stand
firm and give Google the scrutiny it deserves.”

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Consumer Watchdog, formerly the
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, DC and Santa
Monica, Ca.  Consumer Watchdog’s website is http://www.consumerwatchdog.org.
Visit our new Google Privacy and Accountability Project website: http://InsideGoogle.com

The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) is
dedicated to ensuring that the public interest is a fundamental part of
the new digital communications landscape. URL: http://www.democraticmedia.org