Google Closes Acquisition of DoubleClick

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., (March 11, 2008) – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of DoubleClick, a company that offers online ad serving and management technology to advertisers, web publishers and ad agencies.

Eric Schmidt, Google's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are thrilled that our acquisition of DoubleClick has closed. With DoubleClick, Google now has the leading display ad platform, which will enable us to rapidly bring to market advances in technology and infrastructure that will dramatically improve the effectiveness, measurability and performance of digital media for publishers, advertisers and agencies, while improving the relevance of advertising for users."

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

About DoubleClick, Inc.
DoubleClick is a premier provider of digital marketing technology and services. The world's top marketers, publishers and agencies utilize DoubleClick's expertise in ad serving, rich media, video, mobile, search and affiliate marketing to help them make the most of the digital medium. From its position at the nerve center of digital marketing, DoubleClick provides superior insights and insider knowledge to its customers. Learn more at www.doubleclick.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to our ability to improve the performance of digital media and the relevance of internet advertising. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ include, among others, risks related to our ability to identify and pursue the technologies necessary to achieve these goals, as well as those risks and uncertainties included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, which is available on our investor relations website at www.investor.google.com. All information provided in this release is as of March 11, 2008, and Google undertakes no duty to update this information.

Media Contact:
Ellen West
212.565.1986
ewest@google.com

Investor Contact:
Maria Shim
650.253.7663
marias@google.com

Source: Google Press Center

Obama, at Google, calls for national CTO

Obama, at Google, calls for national CTO
Illinois senator is the seventh presidential candidate to speak at the Google campus

November 15, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he would appoint a national chief technology officer to ensure that every government agency is meeting 21st century standards.

Speaking at a Town Hall meeting at Google Inc.'s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, Obama talked about his plan to connect Americans through technology. Google invited the candidates to hear their views on some of the issues that affect their company as well as the technology industry in general. Obama was the seventh presidential hopeful to participate.

Other presidential candidates who have talked to Googlers are Republicans Ron Paul and John McCain and Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bill Richardson, John Edwards and Mike Gravel.

Dell Inc. also has invited the candidates to its campus.

"Together, we could open up government and invite citizens in, while connecting all of America to 21st century broadband. We could use technology to help achieve universal health care, to reach for a clean energy future, and to ensure that young Americans can compete -- and win -- in the global economy," Obama said at the Google meeting.

Obama said he would use technology to open up democracy by putting government data online in universally accessible formats, enabling people to track federal grants, contracts and lobbyist contacts, among other things. In addition, he said he would allow citizens to participate in government forums, ask questions in real time, offer suggestions and comment on legislation before he signs it.

Andrew McLaughlin, Google's director of Public Policy and Government Affairs, noted in the blog that Obama also supports Net neutrality because the candidate wants to make sure the Internet remained an open network. Obama also described his technology policies to strengthen online privacy, to make sure all Americans had access to high-speed broadband, and to free up wireless spectrum for new connectivity and public safety.

During his visit to Google, Edwards urged the FCC to set aside spectrum in its upcoming auction to foster new broadband options.

Source: computerworld.com

FTC reviews ads shaped by online use

FTC reviews ads shaped by online use
ADDRESSING PRIVACY CONCERNS, GOOGLE, YAHOO SAY DATA DELETED IN 18 MONTHS
WASHINGTON - The explosive growth of Internet advertising, targeting users with ads shaped by their online behavior, is getting an unusual two-day review by federal regulators as consumer and privacy groups call for more protections for users.
The Federal Trade Commission's town-hall sessions on the "white-hot issue," as commissioner Jon Leibowitz described it Thursday, even had its own buzz word: "behavioral advertising."
About $20 billion will be spent on online advertising this year, estimated Randall Rothenberg, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and much of it is targeted according to individuals' online behavior. Those dollars help pay for a variety of popular free services and tools, but in return users give up some personal data.
"That's the real paradox," Leibowitz said, addressing the town hall. "Your online experience seems private, but you never know who's peering over your shoulder."
Officials from Internet giants Google, Yahoo and Microsoft defended their privacy practices Thursday, pointing out that they now store user data for 18 months or less before it is destroyed.
Google products "have a high degree of transparency" about information collected, and the goal for its users is "less ads, more relevance," said Tim Armstrong, president of advertising.
Ad networks and small publishers said their users' trust and confidence is critical. Users would rather get ads customized to their interests than generic pop-ups or "those ads about reconnecting to your high school sweetheart," said Dave Morgan, who founded Tacoda, an advertising network.
But a coalition of nine consumer, technology and privacy groups told the FTC that users usually don't know the privacy policies of the sites they visit, or how personal data is tracked, stored and used. They called for a new set of protections to keep up with the technological advances of behavioral advertising.
The FTC should require advertisers to make "more robust disclosures" about behavioral tracking, state their policies clearly and be subject to aggressive audits of their actions, the groups said. The coalition includes the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Consumer Federation of America.
The groups also recommended a "Do Not Track" registry, similar to the popular "Do Not Call" list maintained by the FTC, which bars telemarketers' phone calls. A "Do Not Track" list would prevent companies from cataloging a user's Web site visits.
In recent years, the FTC has become more interested in investigating, and possibly regulating, online business practices. The commission has become the main enforcement agency targeting spyware abuses.
Leibowitz, one of five commissioners, said he was sympathetic to the possibility of additional regulation. He cited one FTC study that found teenage users on MySpace were targeted with banner ads for R-rated movies, showing that "sophisticated behavioral marketing has eroded some parental control."
The "good news" on online advertising, Leibowitz said, is that "because of competition, search engines are tripping over each other to improve privacy."
"Consumers need better information and more meaningful choices," Leibowitz said. He complained that too many online privacy policies "are posted inconspicuously, with fine-print legalese and techno-talk."
The town hall, which continues today, is held as the FTC is reviewing Google's proposed $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, a leading online ad tracker. The merger, if approved, would allow Google, the leader in text-based search advertising, to branch into display advertising.
Critics have warned the deal would be anti-competitive and could raise privacy concerns.