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SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The U.S. Justice Department still thinks a proposal to give Google the digital rights to millions of hard-to-find books threatens to stifle competition and undermine copyright laws, despite revisions aimed at easing those concerns. Consumer Watchdog, one of the groups fighting the settlement, applauded
the Justice Department for taking a stand against a deal "that unfairly
benefits the narrow agenda of one company."

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In a big blow to Google’s efforts to build a massive digital-books marketplace and library, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has come out against the revised agreement to settle copyright lawsuits brought against Google by authors and publishers. Consumer Watchdog, a critic of the settlement, praised the DOJ’s
opinion and predicted the judge will not approve the proposal. "The
Department of Justice should be commended for standing firm in opposing
this private deal that unfairly benefits the narrow agenda of one
company," said John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate with Consumer
Watchdog, in a statement.

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Although the amended settlement agreement for Google’s Book Search addressed some concerns the U.S. Justice Department had, it still could give the company anticompetitive advantages in the digital book marketplace, the agency said on Thursday. The nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog praised the Justice Department’s stance. "The settlement still abuses the class-action mechanism and purports to
enroll absent class members automatically into new business
‘opportunities,’ in violation of current copyright laws," Consumer
Watchdog reiterated from its friend-of-the-court brief opposing the
agreement as modified.

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Google’s bid to secure the digital rights to millions of books
remains under attack from rivals and other critics trying to block a
revised legal settlement that would unlock a vast electronic library.
The most strident criticism to the
changes so far has come from the same foes that have spearheaded the
resistance since last summer. The opposing camp includes the Open Book
Alliance, a group including Google rivals Microsoft Corporation, Yahoo
and Amazon.com, as well as Consumer Watchdog, a group that fights abusive business practices.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Critics of the revised legal settlement with US authors
and publishers that would allow Google to scan and sell millions of
books online filed a flurry of last-minute objections on Thursday. Consumer Watchdog said "the revised settlement suffers from the same fundamental problems as its predecessor." It
said it notably fails to do enough to protect reader privacy, violates
copyright laws and gives "unfair competitive advantages to Google."
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Apple has bought mobile advertising company Quattro Wireless as cellphone competition heats up between the maker of the iPhone and Internet giant Google. Google’s purchase of AdMob is currently being examined by the US
Federal Trade Commission, and two consumer groups, the Center for
Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog, have urged the FTC to oppose
the deal on anti-trust grounds.

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Google’s plan to acquire mobile ad network AdMob in a US$750 million deal announced last month is under fire from two consumer groups, Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy. The two have asked the Federal Trade Commission
to block the deal, arguing that it would substantially lessen
competition in the mobile advertising market, harming consumers,
advertisers and application developers, among others.

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San Francisco, CA — Two consumer groups called on the Federal Trade
Commission to block Google Inc.’s planned $750 million acquisition of
mobile advertising company AdMob, arguing the deal undermines
competition in what could become the critical billboard space of the
digital age. In a joint letter to the FTC on Monday, Consumer Watchdog and the
Center for Digital Democracy argued that combining the online search
giant with a company that describes itself as the "largest mobile ad
network globally," would harm consumers, advertisers and developers of
mobile applications.

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WASHINGTON D.C. – Two advocacy groups asked U.S. antitrust regulators
on Monday to block Google’s purchase of AdMob, a provider of
advertising services for mobile phones, on antitrust grounds and to
address privacy issues raised by the deal. Consumer Watchdog, a consumer advocacy organization, and the Center for
Digital Democracy, an advocate of open access to the Internet, said in
a letter to the Federal Trade Commission that the proposed deal would
"substantially lessen competition in the increasingly important mobile
advertising market."

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