Inside Google

Google’s controversial $750 million deal to buy mobile advertising company AdMob has raised more doubts, this time from Capitol Hill.

A group of bipartisan Congressmen led by Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., wants House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to request the Federal Trade Commission to brief the committee on its probe of the deal.

In the letter, Barrow, and Reps. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Steve Scalise, R-La. write:

“The need for thorough review is particularly pressing given Google’s dominant position in search advertising including mobile search advertising and its growing influence over other forms of online advertising… “Given the huge economic potential of the mobile Internet and the critical role that mobile adveritsing will play in its growth, we believe these issues merit serious attention.”

Meanwhile, as the Congressmen’s letter was being released, Bloomberg News’ Jeff Bliss and Dina Bass reported that the FTC’s staff is recommending to the five-member commission that the deal be blocked.  They wrote:

“The concern is that Mountain View, California-based Google, owner of the world’s most popular web search engine, would reduce competition in the market for advertising on mobile phones. AdMob, based in San Mateo, California, sells ads that appear on web pages and applications on mobile phones.”

Consumer Watchdog was the first to raise objections to the deal. We joined the Center for Digital Democracy in writing a letter to the FTC in December asking that it be be blocked because of our antitrust and privacy concerns.