Is the Justice Department preparing to challenge a high-profile advertising partnership between Google and Yahoo?That was the question being debated from Washington to Silicon Valley on Tuesday, after the Justice Department, which has been reviewing the partnership for several weeks, hired Sanford M. Litvack, a veteran antitrust lawyer, to help assess the evidence gathered by its lawyers.The hiring of an outside lawyer like Mr. Litvack is rare and represents the clearest indication that the Justice Department could be planning to mount a legal challenge to the deal, some analysts said.
http://nytimes.com/2008/09/10/technology/10google.htmlUS authorities hire top lawyer to prepare antitrust case against Google
The US justice department has hired a top Washington lawyer to head up a possible antitrust investigation into the activities of Google.Sanford Litvack, the well-known litigator, will be advising the government as it prepares a case challenging a recent advertising deal between Google and its Silicon Valley rival, Yahoo.The arrangement, which was made in June and lets Google sell advertising on Yahoo’s site in return for a share of profits, has been widely criticised for handing even more power to the dominant force in internet advertising. One analysis suggests that it could result in Google having control of more than 80% of the American online advertising market.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/09/google.google
U.S. May Be Preparing Antitrust Suit in Google-Yahoo Partnership
The US justice department has hired a top Washington lawyer to head up a possible antitrust investigation into the activities of Google.