Yahoo-Google Ad Deal Prompts Multiple Congressional Hearings, Usual Washington Circus
It looks like Jerry Yang’s jaunt to Washington, DC won’t be enough to prevent congressmen from getting their two cents in on the company’s ad deal with Google (NSDQ: GOOG). Ad Age says that at least five Congressional committees are now looking into some aspect of the deal, and hearings are on the way. While the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing specifically on this deal, others including the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection panel, and the House Small Business Committee plan to explore broader aspects. Off Capitol Hill, the Justice Department is said to be soliciting feedback from customers of the two companies.
All of this sounds pretty much par for the course in Washington. Not only are plenty of politicians getting involved, but various interest groups are using it as an opportunity to blast out a press release. The American Corn Growers Association raised some eyebrows when it called the deal “dangerous,” citing the importance of search marketing to the agricultural industry. In one release sent out, the organization said: “Cattleman are now buying and selling calves on frontierstockyards.com, seed customers are finding suppliers through search ads displayed on AgriSeek.com.”
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