Search engine giant Google's recent spending spree may have run into trouble, after reports suggested there was consumer resistance to its planned acquisition of online advertiser DoubleClick.A consumer group is formally protesting the 1.5 billion pound takeover deal and has urged competition commissioner Neelie Kroes to probe the agreement, reports the Financial Times.
BEUC, a group backed by consumers in Germany, Italy and Spain, is reportedly concerned about the negative impact the deal might have on the selection of online content and privacy in relation to consumers.
The deal is already being investigated by the US federal trade commission and, if Kroes discovers that the deal breaches European regulations, Google could be forced to abandon its takeover plans.
BEUC director Jim Murray wrote to the EU Commission last week about the issue.
"Through its acquisition of DoubleClick, Google could monopolise the online advertising business, thereby restricting competition and raising privacy concerns over control of data," said BEUC.
"The unprecedented and unmatched databases of user profiles will constitute significant and possibly insurmountable barriers to entry but they appear to be in clear violation of users' privacy rights," the group added.
Cornelia Kutterer, BEUC's senior legal adviser, told the Guardian that it is likely that the deal will be inspected by the EU's anti-trust bodies.
"We are very worried and more and more so about the issue of data protection in online advertising," she commented.
"We want to bring pressure on the commission to make privacy a key issue in assessing mergers."
