Google attacked European parliamentarians and privacy advocates on Monday for trying to have competition authorities consider the handling of personal information in its $3.1 billion take-over of rival DoubleClick.
The argument was the centrepiece of a European Parliament hearing to consider the burgeoning role of the Internet in impinging on the privacy of citizens.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) signed off last month on Google's $3.1 billion deal, which combines its dominance in pay-per-click Internet advertising with DoubleClick's market-leading position in display ads.
After listening to a visiting FTC commissioner, US and European privacy advocates and European parliamentarians question the impact of the deal on European citizens' on-line privacy, Google's global privacy counsel shot back.