Barton Urges DOJ To Scrutinize Google-Yahoo Deal
House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Joe Barton wrote to the Justice Department on Tuesday urging antitrust division officials to take a close look at largely unexplored issues of privacy and pricing arising from the pending advertising partnership deal between Yahoo and Google. In the letter, the Texas Republican argues that Yahoo has resisted congressional inquiries about the arrangement, noting that "many of their responses seemed designed to obscure rather than clarify how the Google-Yahoo partnership would work."
Citing more than seven pages of redactions that were sent in response to requests for an eight-page document, Barton added that "it is unclear why Yahoo feels such an acute need to hide its actions from the public." The companies in question have tried mightily to inform the public about what the non-exclusive deal would and would not do, officials have said. Executives have testified on Capitol Hill and discussed the issue at a number of public events. The firms also launched YahooGoogleFacts.com to provide more clarity. DOJ is expected to issue a statement on the deal soon.
Update: Yahoo issued a statement saying that the firm has "cooperated fully" with Barton's staff and will continue to do so. For months, Yahoo has been working with DOJ, members of Congress and others reviewing the proposal. Google and Yahoo have also delayed the ad program's launch to provide regulators with more time and information, officials noted.
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