Google/Yahoo Ad Deal Keeps Stirring Up Controversy

It seems like every week Google (GOOG) and Yahoo's (YHOO) proposed ad partnership stirs more controversy.

On Monday the World Federation of Advertisers, which represents 55 national advertiser associations, said it asked the European Union to block the partnership, which is expected to launch next month. The deal will only affect North American websites, but the EU is investigating its impact on global competition.

Then Tuesday the American Antitrust Institute [AAI] released a white paper on the proposed deals detailing the positives and negatives.

The conclusion is that the transaction is anti-competitive in many respects with certain "pro-competitive benefits." 

Yahoo says the deal could generate an additional $800 million in revenue during its first year of operation. The main concern is that this alliance, in which Google powers some of Yahoo's searches, would result in Yahoo's search business being subsumed into the Google behemoth.

Now the deadline is approaching. Google CEO Eric Schmidt says they're planning to move forward with the deal in October, even if they haven't yet received DOJ approval. And tomorrow is one of the companies' big deadlines: under the Google-Yahoo agreement submitted to the SEC, the companies gave the DOJ 105 days from June 12th to complete their antitrust review. That would be today.

Seems they aren't interested in extending that deadline. Let's see who speaks out on this deal next.