• TechCrunch, Monday, December 28, 2009 2:04 PM

In the wake of news that the Federal Trade Commission was reviewing Google's recent $750 million acquisition of mobile ad network AdMob, two consumer groups have asked the FTC to block the deal on anti-trust grounds and privacy issues. In a joint letter to the FTC, Consumer Watchdog and the Center For Digital Democracy say that Google's acquisition of AdMob would lessen competition in the mobile advertising market, having a potentially negative impact on consumers, advertisers and application developers and others.

AdMob is presently the leader in the mobile advertising space. The letter also raises concerns about consumer privacy, as the groups claim that both AdMob and Google have access to large amounts of data relating to consumer behavior, including their location. According to TechCrunch, Google has high ambitions for AdMob, which was one of Google's largest acquisitions since it bought DoubleClick for $3.1 billion in 2008.

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