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The Justice Department has begun an inquiry into
the antitrust implications of Google’s settlement with authors and
publishers over its Google Book Search service, two people briefed on
the matter said Tuesday. Lawyers for the Justice Department have been in conversations in recent
weeks with various groups opposed to the settlement, including the
Internet Archive and Consumer Watchdog.
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Earlier this month, the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog called for the
Justice Department to delay the settlement. The group argued that no
one is representing the public interest in the agreement, a deal it
contends will "transform" publishing.
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While much mainstream news coverage of the pending Google Book
Search settlement has focused on the potential boon to researchers,
concerns raised by librarians and consumers have begun to hit critical
mass. One sign was a front-page article in the April 4 New York Times, headlined Google’s Plan for Out-of-Print Books Is Challenged, which noted that two sets of academics plan to intervene in the settlement. Consumer Watchdog,
a public interest group in Southern California, also has asked the
Justice Department to intervene in the case to “serve the public
interest,” Helft noted.
