If there's one constant about the United States, it is that not knowing the facts never stopped the government from recommending "strong action." That is proven again this Monday as Senators Orrin Hatch and Herb Kohl argue that due to Google's dominant Internet advertising presence, they shouldn't be allowed to move forward with the proposed merger with DoubleClick.
In essence, the two senators simply stated "this might be a problem, therefore we must interfere in the market."
One can expect government interference in the marketplace from liberal Democrats, but someone like Orrin Hatch who claims to be pro-business and comes from the party of free market capitalism is showing a surprising lack of scruples on this matter.
The Senators tried to tie the issue back into the Do Not Track movement raised earlier this month by a number of industry watchdogs: "...we believe that this deal raises fundamental consumer privacy concerns worthy of serious scrutiny."
Google responded to the letter today, stating that they had "already discussed the privacy and market share questions with the FTC," and that they "remain confident that the FTC will conclude that this deal is good for consumers, advertisers, and Web site publishers."
[via Senate.gov]