By We haven’t heard a peep about the monumental acquisition of Admob by Google that would give the search/mobile giant unprecedented market share in the mobile ad space. Or should we say “hopeful aquisition”? According to Bloomberg the chances that the deal is completed are ominious.
Bloomberg says US Regulators are “seeking sworn declarations from Google competitors and advertisers as part of their probe of the Internet company’s bid to buy AdMob, indicating the government may challenge the deal.”
After purchasing AdMob for $750 million dollars, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Google will have an unfair advantage and decrease competition in the mobile advertising market. There are a couple recent events Google can mention that should easily prove their points and allow them to prevail:
Seems like plenty of competition to me – and that’s on an operating system which GOOGLE created which is probably a key element of the opposition. To be honest, I understand why the government wants to prevent monopolies but seriously – especially in the highly evolving world of technology you should be irreversibly convinced before the FTC takes action. Company’s spend their entire lives trying to go from being the little guy to creating some leverage and opportunities from their success and momentum. Once they get to a certain point they are so successful that you say WAIT – you’re not allowed to continue attempting to be successful?
The crazy thing about the mobile industry in general is that there is SO much room for innovation. A company with incredibly innovative ideas, good implementation and great timing could dethrone Google under the right circumstances. They are the same types of circumstances which helped Google dethrone their competitors. When MySpace reached its peak did anyone think Facebook would come along, swoop up its users and lead the way within a matter of years? Not at all.
Don’t get me wrong, if Google becomes a mobile monopoly then I’m all for creating some buffers to allow for healthy competition. But right now the mobile advertising industry is in its infancy… it is MUCH too early to decide if Google is reducing competition. Not only that, Google is the primary innovator in the mobile space right now – again, during its infancy. Do you really want to suffocate innovation because you think that maybe, at some point in the future, Google will have so much power that the competition doesn’t stand a fighting chance even in the perfect situation?
Let the Google AdMob deal go through and addres this issue when and if it actually becomes a problem.
[Image via IntoMobile]
This is ridiculous, the whole concept of using government to protect us from monopolies is a giant contradiction. We need the a giant monopoly to protect us from monopolies? Give me a break
Don’t forget to add
“Apple buys mobile advertising company as part of iPhone and Tablet plans. Apple has spent $275m to acquire mobile ad firm Quattro Wireless….”
I agree with the author’s assessment that there’s no need for the government to take anti-trust actions in this case. google has gotten where it is, not by using its size to control the market, but by providing continuously improving services that consistently out perform competitors (competitors that are always only a click away). There’s been no attept made my google to lock anyone into their ecosystem, and this aquisition is just them expanding their core business of advertising.
Pre-emptively blocking the aquisition because they might use their size to control the market is rediculous. How bout we wait until google does something malicious before we punish them? So far all their guilty of is being really good at what they do.
You said it perfectly, Yeath.
Not only that, but the whole idea of harful monopolies is just myth/propaganda. Until a company starts using threats, violence or lawsuits to actively prevent new companies from entering into their line of business, all of the regular market forces will keep them in check. The fact that someone COULD potentially enter their line of business is just as effective as actual competition in driving quality up and prices down.
If you look closely at every instance of a monopoly that was truly bad for consumers, you will find government prohibitions and regulations to invariably be the cause. Anti-trust laws, rather than doing anything to protect consumers, just drive up costs an inhibit innovation. But for some reason people think it’s a good idea to punish success.
Thank you for this piece…you’re right on point. As John mentioned the key factor is Apple’s recent mobile acquisition. One of Gs largest competitors purchase of one of Admob’s largest competitors. Considering that ads on apps have played a major role in AdMob’s success, it is telling that key to Apple’s decision to buy Quattro was the opportunity to monetize that same inventory. If that’s not fair competition I’m not sure what is.
I’ve also read that various groups are concerned with Google’s growing visibility into our web activities. There certainly might be a privacy concern…but doesn’t that fall outside the FTCs purpose and authority?
They will have fair competition and either way, Google will come on top as advertising is one of the things they do best :)