The EC approval of Google’s DoubleClick takeover

Statement on the EC Decision on Google/DoubleClick
Jeff Chester, Center for Digital Democracy

By failing to impose safeguards, EC regulators have helped strengthen a growing digital colossus that will now be in a dominant position to shape much of the global future of the Internet and other online media. The EC [DG Comp] appears to have embraced the FTC’s flawed analysis of the online ad market. It represents the failure of antitrust regulators to understand and respond to the growing consolidation of control over online ad delivery, data collection, and the funding of content. This decision will have profound and unfortunate consequences for the Internet’s evolving role as a democratic communications medium.

EU and US antitrust regulators have also perversely set the stage for Microsoft’s goal of acquiring Yahoo!, furthering more concentration of control in the new media sector. Instead of ensuring competition, DG Comp and the FTC have literally paved the way for the emergence of a global digital duopoly over online advertising (which is the principal way online content is funded). By permitting Google to dramatically grow in clout, regulators will have to likely enable the further growth of a # 2 competitor to Google—which will be Microsoft.

US and European policymakers must reform the antitrust process to reflect the realities of the digital market era, where competition, data collection, and content creation are seamlessly intertwined. In today’s digital marketplace, the company that controls the most data about consumers and has the global reach to connect to them raises both anticompetitive and privacy concerns. An antiquated and piecemeal antitrust approach fails to protect citizens, consumers, and competition.

The Center for Digital Democracy, which opposed the Google/DoubleClick merger in both the U.S. and in the EC, will continue to press policymakers to play a more responsible forward-thinking approach to competition and consumer protection for online and interactive media.

Google+DoubleClick will = “the dominant player in behavourial targeting”

No, that’s not just CDD and other privacy advocates warning the public about this. It’s a quote from a panel held this week in Brussels by the “conservative think-tank, the Centre for the New Europe.” Here’s an excerpt of a story that quotes panelist Wayne Arnold from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and digital ad agency Profero: “Google is increasingly becoming the dominant player in the digital advertising space in Europe. If the Double Click acquisition goes through, this will provide Google with unrivalled access to consumer data and a foothold in the display media space – an area in which until now they have been relatively weak.”

The next big thing in online advertising is behavioural targeting, said Mr Arnold. This is a technique whereby advertisers increase the effectiveness of their campaigns by using data collected from someone’s web-browsing behaviour – that is to say, what sites they have been to and what things they have searched for.

The advertiser then uses this information to deliver adverts tailored to the perceived interests of the websurfer. The The Double Click deal will make Google “suddenly the dominant player in behavourial targeting,” said Mr Arnold.”

source: “Google-Double Click merger raises privacy concerns.” Leigh Phillips. Euobserver.com. 3/7/08.

Google (and UC Berkeley’s) Hal Varian’s failure to communicate on privacy

UC Berkeley professor and currently Google chief economist Hal Varian in a company blog post conveniently dodges the real reason why Google desires our search data. Notably missing from Prof. Varian’s “Why Data Matters” is any mention of online marketing. He fails to acknowledge that data “matters” to Google because its how Varian and other Google employees get paid–via the 99% of annual company revenues derived from interactive advertising and marketing.

As Google’s chief economist, Prof. Varian should do a new post where he identifies the financial benefit Google receives when it collects data about our searches, YouTube views, and interactions with interactive advertising.

The emerging online health field requires meaningful privacy and interactive marketing safeguards to prevent the exploitation of American consumers. Google, Microsoft and many others see digital gold from the online targeting of medical-related products & services. There will be a flood of personalized pitches from the Big Pharma brands, health remedies, and over-the counter remedies. Yesterday, CDT sent out an email saying that “[N]ext week the Center for Democracy & Technology will announce a major health privacy initiative that will emerge as the major player in this converging field, poised to stand in the gap, bringing providers, industry and consumers to the table to build workable solutions and impact policy makers.” The CDT missive explained that “[A]ddressing these issues requires a strong, credible voice, that combines privacy and technology expertise with a deep understanding of the health care system and the goals for information technology; a voice with privacy policy experience and an understanding of how technology can be used to improve health care.”

The health of the American public in the digital era will be directly connected to the policies we enact governing medical micro-targeting, data collection, and online marketing. Groups have to stand up for what is right for consumers. The new CDT effort–along with the online health data and marketing initiatives–will require close scrutiny. Protecting health-related privacy and ensuring safeguards for digital medical advertising are essential if we are going to engage in prevention.

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Consider this a form of `let’s help Google try and be more honest about privacy and data collection’ public service.

Excerpt from PC World:
Google’s YouTube will soon give marketers more data about viewership of its videos, so that they have a better understanding of clips’ reach and effectiveness at boosting brand awareness and sales.

The online video site plans to make more granular metrics available in this year’s second and third quarters, including data about the usage of YouTube videos that are embedded in external sites, said Brian Cusack, YouTube sales team manager.

“YouTube has enormous amounts of data, but not great reporting on that data yet,” Cusack said during a keynote speech at the eRetailer Summit….YouTube…is building models to distinguish content that is universally interesting from content that is locally interesting, in order to make that useful for its advertising customers, Cusack said.

YouTube to Improve Usage Metrics: New data about Google’s YouTube video viewership will be availabletp marketers. Juan Carlos Perez. IDG News. March 3, 2008

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Murdoch’s MySpace uses behavioral targeting to harvest data of its users, including when they are having a baby or going off to college

From the mouths of data collecting social network executives, via Online Media Daily:

“…Heidi Browning, the senior vice president of client solutions for Fox Interactive Media, cited some impressive results from behavioral targeting using data from MySpace–including a 733% lift in brand awareness, 800% lift in recall, 152% increase in brand favorability, and 179% increase in purchase intent.

She added that social networks like MySpace are ideal places to harvest data for behavioral targeting because consumers voluntarily provide detailed information about a host of behaviors and attitudes–including, for example, media consumption and brand preferences as well as simple demographic descriptors, age, education, and geographic location. From these, Fox assembled a number of enthusiast and lifestyle segments, broadly grouped in 10 super-segments, with at least 3 million and as many as 10 million members each.

According to Browning, MySpace data can tell marketers when a user “is moving, having a baby, going to college”–but also more subtle information including receptivity to ad messaging at different times of day. With other data sources, like DVR records, she said MySpace information will allow “hyper-targeting” of consumers, delivering the right kind of ad message via the right medium at the right time of day.”

source: “Behavioral Targeting: A Brave New World… Maybe.” Erik Sass. Online Media Daily. Feb. 26, 2008 [reg required]

IAB’s new “Privacy Principles”=A Failure to Protect Consumer Privacy

The IAB has embraced a `circle the data collection and micro-targeting digital wagon’s’ with its new privacy principles. Instead of embracing a policy that truly protects consumer privacy, IAB members are trying to hide behind the same failed approach they have led to governmental inquiries in the US and the EU. The IAB should have adopted rules so that no data can be collected without full disclosure and prior consent of the consumer, as well as other fair information collection principles. The IAB’s proposed new PR campaign to promote the role of interactive marketing will undoubtedly by slick–but won’t be honest. That’s why my CDD will keep telling the FTC, the EU and the public about what really goes on with data collection and digital marketing. These slightly refurbished fox-watching-the-data-hen-house-privacy principles won’t provide any substantive protections for consumers. The failure of the IAB to acknowledge key issues related to sensitive data–including children, teens, financial (think subprime mortgage-related) and health–is a glaring failure of the group’s ability to do what is required to protect consumer privacy.

The IAB is trying to help its members dodge the digital privacy data bullet. But privacy advocates and officials concerned about consumer welfare in the digital age will eventually force the needed changes. What’s sad is that instead of playing a leadership role in the privacy debate, the IAB is attempting to stick with the past. Don’t they realize that change is coming?

Drive, Google says, as it pushes automobiles via online video, mobile, YouTube, etc.

excerpt from “Google’s View of autos for 2008.” imediaconnection. 2/21/08. An interview with Bonita Stewart, Google’s director of “automotive vertical.”
“…dealers have the opportunity to geographically target their products and services, and mobile technology offers the ability to connect with a dealer during the shopping process…Right now we are particularly keen on the benefits of online video. It’s the new portable TV and offers the sight, sound and motion automotive marketers crave to differentiate their product and to evoke consumer emotion. In November 2007, U.S. consumers viewed more than 225 million auto/vehicle videos on YouTube…Google’s resources and expertise make YouTube’s search experience the best it can possibly be…We will continue to make search and discovery of videos a priority in 2008…Don’t build it and wait for consumers to come to your site. Venture out, find them and communicate with them online through gadgets that provide dealer locators, photo/video galleries, build and price features directly to the consumers in a microsite format…don’t ignore the data. Today it’s more compelling than ever to follow the consumer and lead from behind. Consumer engagement is increasing and driving their behavior as witnessed by the growth in social networking, video, mobile and search. On the horizon I see integrated marketing moving to integrated accountability and ROI. Marketers will develop more cause and effect levers.”

Google’s mobile vision: “integrated marketing campaigns” for” Fortune 1000 companies”

Google, as we have said previously, deserves praise for its work on open spectrum. But its motives are more aligned with plans to expand its interactive data collection and targeted marketing business. Here’s an excerpt from Google’s job listing for “Team Manager Mobile Advertising, Google Mobile Advertising:
“As a Google Mobile Team Manager, you’ll serve as a mini-CEO responsible for developing and implementing strategies to sustain and increase a multi-million-dollar revenue business in the mobile industry. You’ll hire, train and lead your team, which will work closely with many internal Google divisions to develop integrated marketing campaigns and present them to Fortune 1000 companies. A crucial focus will be to understand how the mobile area fits into cross-media campaigns.”

or perhaps you are interested in: Senior Account Executive, Google Mobile Advertising:

“The Mobile Advertising team that operates within Advertising Sales was organized to fortify the company’s mobile objectives in search, branding and measurement. We do this by striving to identify our clients’ business challenges, to collaboratively shape solutions that drive their strategic initiatives and to keep them educated and informed in the ways that our products can enhance their online and/or offline presence…
Senior Account Executives drive revenue by selling Google’s mobile solutions to top-tier advertisers. This is a high-energy job requiring persistent and persuasive interactions with clients, deep mobile and Internet expertise, proven sales skills, the ability to work collaboratively with internal sales teams, closing deals, strong communication skills and a broad base of mobile industry contacts.”

Microsoft/Yahoo! privacy & merger watch: Yahoo! is "largest behavioral targeting network" according to its Blue Lithium subsidiary

Yesterday, the behavioral targeting firm and Yahoo! subsidiary Blue Lithium gave a lunch time presentation at the OMMA Behavioral Targeting conference. The Yahoo!/Blue Lithium representatives discussed how “Yahoo! was the largest behavioral targeting network,” even prior to its acquisition of Blue Lithium. They talked about the “amount of knowledge we have about users,” including the “deep information” on its “hundreds of millions” of users. Yahoo!, they claimed, had a treasure trove of user data for its targeting “engine,” including search clicks, page views, ad views, and clicks. Yahoo!, they explained, “has spent time and money” to build an ad targeting system that can use all this data, with 400 distinct “categories and models.” Yahoo! has “scale” and “unprecedented reach.” They made a point of noting that [for now], Google doesn’t use behavioral targeting. The representatives also boosted about Blue Lithium’s retargeting capabilities, and that they can target with “specific messages,” and “identify the people that clicked.”  The retargeting is followed up with a “call to action” they noted.

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