Google Chief Legal Officer Testifies At Capitol Hill Regarding Online Advertising and DoubleClick Deal

Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding online advertising and the Google-DoubleClick acquisition. Some of the key points include:

Discussion about privacy:

"Google’s bottom line is this: We believe deeply in protecting online users’ privacy, and we have a strong track record of doing so. We are constantly working to innovate in our privacy practices and policies. Some have asked questions about privacy protections in connection with the DoubleClick acquisition, but for us privacy does not begin or end with our purchase of DoubleClick. Privacy is a user interest that we’ve been protecting since our inception."

"We make privacy a priority because our business depends on it. If our users are uncomfortable with how we manage the information they provide to us, they are only one click away from switching to a competitor’s services. If you don’t believe me, recall that before Google, users clicked on an earlier generation of search engines like Excite, Altavista, Lycos, and Infoseek – each extremely popular in its time. User interests effectively regulate our behavior, and user trust is a critical component of our business model."

Commercial vs. Non-profit advertising:

"And our ads aren’t always commercial. We run a program called Google Grants that provides free advertising to non-profit organizations engaged in community service in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts. Since April 2003, grantees have collectively received more than $155 million in free advertising. "

DoubleClick acquisition regarding competition:

"We believe that by combining our advertising network with DoubleClick’s display ad serving products, and by investing resources in the display ad business, we will be able to help publishers and advertisers generate more revenue, which will fuel the creation of even more rich and diverse content on the Internet. "

You can read David’s full testimony here.