European Commission must confront privacy issues in Google-DoubleClick merger

11.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 21st Jan 2008

After a hearing in the European Parliament civil liberties committee, London Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has demanded that the European Commission should assess customer privacy concerns when deciding on the proposed merger between internet search engine Google, and online advertising agency DoubleClick.

Sarah Ludford, a leading campaigner on data protection issues, said:

"The European Commission must acknowledge that the position of its competition department, whereby privacy issues are irrelevant to the antitrust case, is completely untenable. To assert that privacy aspects are for national data protection watchdogs is to close the stable door after the horse has bolted."

"A merger of two businesses, one holding information on internet searches and websurfing and the other selling tailored advertising, clearly impacts on private data interests as well as on competitors. For EU regulators to ignore that is to fail European citizens."

"In reaching a conclusion, the Commission must help to clarify the application of EU data protection rules to search inquiries and IP addresses and boost practical safeguards against abuse of that personal data."