GOOGLE, YAHOO DEAL SUBJECT OF ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION

Washington Post:

The Justice Department has opened a formal antitrust investigation into a deal struck last month that would allow the Internet titan Google to provide some search advertising for Yahoo, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

Investigators are planning to demand documents not only from Google and Yahoo, but also from other large companies in the Internet and media industries, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Google and Yahoo officials have said since the deal's announcement that they would delay its implementation for a voluntary Justice Department review. But a formal investigation signals that the department may have found some cause for concern.

Lawyers familiar with similar investigations said that the kind of legal requests being issued by the Justice Department in this case -- "civil investigative demands" -- are not used for routine matters.

"They don't do it without having identified significant issues," said M.J. Moltenbrey, a Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer who was director of civil non-merger enforcement in the Justice Department's antitrust division in the 1990s. "It involves approval at higher levels within the antitrust division."

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[outnow]

Raygun killed anti-trust law. After the late 70's nothing has been done to enforce the Sherman Anti-trust law. Monopolies, cartels and huge hedge funds outsource jobs and control the food, energy, and financial system internationally. Competition is now defined as Chinese or Indian. There is no "free market" but there are vertical and horizontal monopolies and price-fixing. It's all legal gibberish with no-bid contracts, crony capitalism, corporate welfare and monopolies. What are they even talking about? Someone must be jealous of the combined power of Google and Yahoo. They could buy their own government.

[blastocyst]

Yoogle? Gahoo? Ahooga? Take your meaningless pick.

[AxelDC]

There is no reason for these companies to merge, except to end competition. Allowing the two major search engines to become one will end innovation and drive up prices for consumers.

Both companies are highly profitable, so the only justification is monopolization of a rapidly developing field. This will help a few elites get richer while stifling information technology progess.

[westreal]

WHAT?

But the Sirius/XM merger is OK? Like all the consolidations of television and newspapers in the country into three or four major owners. Like the Ticketmaster monopoly. Don't get me started.

[blastocyst]

Everyone harbors their own glowing coal of resentment for something.

[JTyroler]

Did Google and/or Yahoo forget to donate to the Republican Party?

[kay]

Yahoo's donors contributed $67,050: 70 percent to Obama, 26.5 percent to Clinton and 3.5 percent to McCain.

Google donors gave $263,928: 71 percent to Obama, 26 percent to Clinton and 3.5 percent to McCain.

:)

That's EMPLOYEES of Google/Yahoo, not the companies themselves.

The DOJ is the enforcement arm of the RNC.

[speakingtruth2power]

Damn straight!

[blastocyst]

Frame every debate in terms of the economy shutting down.
Unemployment is growing and creates drag on and touches everything.
Jack Welch pontificates on this morning's Morning Joe on MSNBC saying that in the third and fourth quarters we'll by necessity be importing less from China. Leave China to fend for China. Think about that. An America which produces what it consumes always worked well enough in the past.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

The Justice Department hasn't enforced antitrust laws since the Mayberry Mafia have taken power. One of the ironies is the greed that send US Corporations to China salivating for it’s large population, gave up on the US worker to do it, yet the US population was were their bread was buttered. So when we stop buying there junk, the consequences is economic disaster.

Jack Welch is one 1st American CEOs to embrace outsourcing 1st to Mexico than everywhere else. A friend of mine worked for GE’s aerospace division and lost his job under Welch, when GE picked up and moved it to Mexico, GE moved back because of endless quality issues with its jet engines. Many lamp manufactures, which have been manufacturing in China for years are leaving because of breakage and sloppy quality control.

This country was given the power of tariff in the Constitution as a means to raise funds, as well as taxes. No one talks about these option, considering the US import market is the lowest tariffed in the world, yet we try to export to protected markets like China, at the same time barrow money from them to continue an occupation in the Iraq that the majority of the nation dose not want, where is the logic in this? Neo-cons yammer about Socialism, yet between making war on everyone on the planet than trying to rebuild their economies, not to mention corporate welfare in the tax code are the biggest socialist around.

[blastocyst]

You seem to have a handle on the scope of the issue. Vested interests will debate you and I until the 'death' of the kernel of the idea that was The United States of America.
Witness 'smoke-screen' debates around non-relevant issues and the masses seize upon their newest 'opiate'.

[kay]

I just assume all Bush Justice Department investigations are political.

It's like the enforcement arm of the GOP.

[only1Demvoter]

Yeah... I remember when PT&T was divied - up back in the seventies.­..

A good friend of mine down in The City lost his job, his butt, house,etc. ... And the Rethugs saw an opening to ' capitalize on the opportunity '.

They're Utilities, and need to be regulated and protected from the hawks!! ( Just look at the prices of cable / satellite television / DSL... )

Out of control... Unacceptable. Unconscionable ! ( The Children need to be reigned in. )


More to follow. -ralph

[only1Demvoter]

... Did I forget to mention Enron ??

They're slimy. If you take your eyes off of them for even a second... The results COULD BE catastrophic !!


-ralph

[robodweeb]

El yawn-o

[rooks]

Slow news day.

[TNT2008]

Sure DOJ, go after "goohoo" and let the king in the White House continue to sit on his throne!

[yappnmutt]

mr. softie gets his way. what if yahoo closed its search business all together? would doj make google share its monopoly? yahoo is a portal that has search as one of its features. google is search. google should buy yahoo and become goohoo so they can compete against baidu, sohu and rediff.

[Deaninphilly]

Great now I'll get screwed at both google and yahoo with fraud clicks that google says they are stopping, yeah right. To add insult to injury the DOJ is doing an "investigation". Like the rest of them where they just approve the merger anyway. All corporate mergers need to stop. How about we start investigating these corporations for the fraud they are committing. Is that too much of a dream?

[watchingthings]

........ju­st microsoft crying....­"sour grapes". If anyone needs this investigat­ion.....it­'s microsoft.

[Oldtimer]

My immediate thought is Google and Yahoo are no longer giving to the Republicans.

[only1Demvoter]

Oldtimer : You must have hit 'Em pretty close to the mark, to p iss ' Em off so much !!


-ralph