German official opposes Google deal

2nd October 2007

Google 's efforts to convince the EU that its proposed buyout of advertising tracker DoubleClick would not raise anti-trust issues or data protection issues.

Thilo Weichert, data protection commissioner for the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, has told the EU he is against allowing the deal.

It would lead to "a massive violation of data privacy rights", he told the body in a letter, CNET News reports.

Among his concerns is the fact that Google already holds on to search information for longer than he feels is necessary.

His concerns about the consumer's right to "informational self-determination" have been mirrored by commercial competitor's concerns.

Microsoft and Yahoo! - both of which have appeared before regulatory bodies to speak out against the deal - feel it would give Google a monopoly of the online advertising market.

Google has issued multiple statements denying that this would be the case.