• Comment
• Print Article
• Email
• Permalink

Consumer Advocates Pooh-Pooh Google-AdMob Deal

Written on

Dec 28, 2009 

Author

Gavin Dunaway  |

Share

Consumer Advocates Pooh-Pooh Google-AdMob Deal

ADOTAS – When Google announced its plans to acquire mobile ad network AdMob, we were ready to bow and kiss the ring of the new mobile ad king. Alas, we forgot that maxim about counting your chickens before they hatch.

Last week the Federal Trade Commission (known as the Grinch at Google headquarters) announced it was in need of more information, a “second request,” before it could give a thumbs-up to merger. The FTC had already been in prolonged discussions with Google over the AdMob acquisition, so this move suggests scrutiny has been dialed up in the review.

Google played down the importance of that announcement, but now consumer watchdog groups are piling on the regulatory pressure.

In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog, and Jeffery A. Chester, executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy, argue that the merger would enable Google to dominate the mobile ad network and discourage competition, as well as put the app monetization process squarely in the hands of Google.

Beside antitrust concerns, the letter warns about consumer privacy issues raised by the two companies’ collecting of behavioral and location data. The advocates claim that U.S. consumers lack meaningful safeguards from such intrusive practices, especially in the mobile space, which has no substantial federal regulation. In addition, the letter questions whether Google will take unfair advantage of such information in marketing its own smartphone, due to come out in 2010.

“The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled,” Simpson and Chester conclude.

Google has been on a shopping spree lately with the acquisition of Teracent and AdMob, but Yelp slipped out of its grasp at the last moment.

Tags: admob, center-for-digital-democracy, consumer-advocates, Consumer-Watchdog, Google, jeffrey-chester, Merger, mobile and mobile-ad-network

• Comment
• Print Article
• Email
• Permalink

Article Sponsor

More News

• Funding in Brief: $10M for Spongecell, $8M for Prolexic
• Google AdMob Axes Minimum Bids, Targeting Fees
• Infographic: HootSuite Analyses Social Media Impact of Super Bowl Ads
• Facebook to Serve Mobile Ads in Coming Weeks
• Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile

• Right now, at the beginning of 2012, what are you watching the most closely for its ad and marketing opportunities?

  • Mobile. Smart devices have become standard, and advertising is only going to become more creative there.
  • Online video. It's a real competitor to TV now, and it presents really interesting ways to engage viewers.
  • Social media. The new Facebook timeline and the surge of Google+ have cracked the game wide open again.
  • Tempting as it might be, I don't want to get too involved in one aspect.
  • See, I think this might be a good time to see what would happen if we revisited MySpace, but made the ads slightly bigger... with more strobe effect.

  View Results

   Loading ...

• Polls Archive

Latest News

• Funding in Brief: $10M for Spongecell, $8M for Prolexic February 9th 2012 ADOTAS – Rich media ad company Spongecell has raised $10 million [...] more »
• Google AdMob Axes Minimum Bids, Targeting Fees February 9th 2012 ADOTAS - As of Feb. 15, Google will change its [...] more »
• Infographic: HootSuite Analyses Social Media Impact of Super Bowl Ads February 7th 2012 ADOTAS - So, it’s the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, [...] more »
• Facebook to Serve Mobile Ads in Coming Weeks February 6th 2012 ADOTAS – According to a Financial Times report, Facebook will [...] more »
• Survey: 39 Percent of Mobile Users Responded to Super Bowl Ads Via Mobile February 6th 2012 ADOTAS - During the Super Bowl yesterday, mobile ad network [...] more »
• Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for Mobile February 3rd 2012 ADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech [...] more »
• Weird Study: Mobile Purchasing While in the Bathroom on the Rise February 3rd 2012 DM CONFIDENTIAL - According to 11mark, three-quarters of Americans with mobile [...] more »

News Archive

Features

• Attribution Online: Introducers and Influencers and Closers… Oh My! February 9th 2012
• With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a Name February 9th 2012
• Rethinking the Online Advertising Ecosystem, Part One: Independent Publishers February 8th 2012
• Case Study: Social Ad Effectiveness February 8th 2012
• Video: “Build an SEO Foundation” Excerpt February 8th 2012

Features Archive

Spotlight

Sponsormob Leads the Way Into RTB for MobileADOTAS – For more than half a decade, Berlin-based tech firm Sponsormob has remained relevant in an industry characterized by [...] more...

Reader Favorites

Classifieds

• PS Technical Writer - SEO Data Analyst
• Interactive Project Manager
• Media Buyer
• PHP Software Engineer (Facebook Platform/Social AP
• SEO/Marketing Internship at Green Education Startu

Recent Comments

• Rick Noel: Nice post Mike. A few years back, we ran a large CPA campaign through an
• With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a Name – ADOTAS | ShopComs.com: [...] With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a NameADOTASADOTAS – It's no longer important how
• Domain Outlook : Latest Domain News » Blog Archive » With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a Name - ADOTAS: [...] With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a NameADOTASADOTAS – It's no longer important how
• With gTLDs, Global Branding Starts with a Name: [...] and Microsoft have little to worry about over names like UnitedThis and UnitedThat. The