Google, ITA and the coming antitrust war

Oh. Yeah. This is kind of a big deal. The New York Times reports on Google gaining clearance from the US Dept. of Justice to buy ITA. An association backed by Google’s competitors notes,

“Google is heralding it as some win, when in fact the scrutiny is just beginning,” said Patrick C. Lynch, the former Rhode Island attorney general, on a call with reporters arranged by FairSearch. “It’s not going to be just the Department of Justice. It’s going to come from all sides.”

If you remember the Microsoft antitrust investigations of the late ’90’s, this feels eerily familiar. I looked at Google’s potential for antitrust violations a couple of years ago and offered some tips on how to prepare for a Google antitrust investigation. Search Engine Land would like to see the parties compete more effectively. But I think that now might be a good time to start planning for any eventual fallout, because this story — government approval of the Google/ITA deal notwithstanding — is far from over.

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