• by Laurie Petersen , August 3, 2007

Add Canada to the list of countries where the proposed merger of Google and DoubleClick is causing a stir.

The Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) at the University of Ottawa on Thursday requested that the Competition Commissioner review the proposed merger.

In its application for an inquiry, CIPPIC alleges that a merger between Google and DoubleClick will prevent or substantially lessen competition in the online targeted advertising market by combining Google's keyword search dominance with DoubleClick's leadership in display ad serving and behavioral targeting advertisement products.

"A Google-DoubleClick merger will greatly affect electronic commerce," states CIPPIC director Philippa Lawson. "Through the merger, Google-DoubleClick will gain unprecedented market power, with which they can manipulate online advertising prices. Advertisers and web publishers will have no real choice but to choose Google's advertisement platforms in order to remain visible in the e-commerce market."

CIPPIC's mandate is to advocate for balance in policy and law-making on issues arising out of new technologies. The entire letter is posted at CIPPIC's Web site.