Google announces that it will end its bid for a joint ad partnership with Yahoo to avert a battle with regulators
Jackson, Mississippi (WiredNewsEngine.com) — A new report by the AFP on Wednesday, Google said that it would end its bid for a joint ad partnership with Yahoo to avoid “a protracted legal battle” with regulators.
David Drummond, Google’s senior VP and chief legal officer, said the proposed partnership faced an uphill battle with U.S. Justice Department antitrust regulators.
According to the report, the Justice Department threatened to file a suit blocking the alliance on the basis that the agreement would smother search engine advertising competition by controlling up to 90 percent of the market.
“After four months of review, including discussions of various possible changes to the agreement, it’s clear that government regulators and some advertisers continue to have concerns about the agreement,” Drummond wrote in the Google blog.
“Pressing ahead risked not only a protracted legal battle but also damage to relationships with valued partners. That wouldn’t have been in the long-term interests of Google or our users, so we have decided to end the agreement.”
Thomas Barnett, head of the department’s antitrust division, said that the deal between the No. 1 and 2 search engines on the Internet would have inevitably deprived customers of the option of a diverse marketplace and competition including lower prices, quality of service and “greater innovation.”
The Google-Yahoo joint ad partnership was announced in mid-June after Yahoo declined a buyout bid from Microsoft.
Picture credit: WIKI For Google Logo
