November 05, 2008

Google calls off search advertising deal with Yahoo

Google says that continued pursuit of the controversial deal is "not in the best interest of Google or its users"

Google announced Wednesday that it is ending its effort to forge a search advertising partnership with Yahoo.

After four months of wrangling with advertisers and government regulators who voiced competitive and antitrust concerns about the deal, the company said in a blog post that continuing the effort is not in the best interests of Google or its users. The proposed deal would have seen Yahoo running Google advertisements in its search results.

[ Keep up on the latest tech news headlines at InfoWorld News, or subscribe to the Today's Headlines newsletter. ]

"Pressing ahead risked not only a protracted legal battle but also damage to relationships with valued partners," noted David Drummond, Google's senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer in the post. "We feel that the agreement would have been good for publishers, advertisers, and users -- as well, of course, for Yahoo and Google. We're of course disappointed that this deal won't be moving ahead. But we're not going to let the prospect of a lengthy legal battle distract us from our core mission."

Shortly after the deal was announced in June, Google and Yahoo came under fire from large advertiser groups, which charged that the deal would diminish competition and raise online advertising prices. At the same time the U.S. Department of Justice hired a high-profile litigator to look into whether the deal warranted an antitrust investigation.

And an antitrust think tank has said the partnership could end up as a "black hole that swallows up Yahoo," thus justifying an antitrust investigation.

In addition, the chairman of the U.S. Senate's antitrust subcommittee urged the DOJ to closely examine the proposed partnership, noting that it could lead to higher advertising prices and create unfair market conditions. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) noted then that the subcommittee's investigation found that many advertisers and competitors are concerned about Google's potential to control a dominant share of the search advertising market. Under the deal, Yahoo would have less incentive to compete against Google and could opt to exit the market altogether, Kohl asserted.

Close

On Twitter now

Networking

Powered by Twitter

On Twitter now

White Paper

D2D Virtual Tape Library Replication Primer

This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.

Download now »

White Paper

An Alternative to Virtualization for Datacenter Cost Savings

Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.

Download now »

White Paper

Why Your Firewall, VPN, and IEEE 802.11i Aren't Enough to Protect Your Network

The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.

Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation

Download now »

White Paper

Bringing the Edge to the Data Center

Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.

Download now »

Sign up to receive Networking Resource Alerts

Subscribe to the Today's Headlines: First Look Newsletter

Find out what will be news for the day, with our first-thing-in-the-morning briefing.

©1994-2009 Infoworld, Inc.