Google threatens to fight US government ‘very hard’ if AdMob deal blocked

“Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Tuesday his company is prepared to fight the U.S. government ‘very hard’ if regulators block the search leader’s acquisition of mobile advertising firm AdMob,” Yinka Adegoke reports for Reuters.

“Schmidt said AdMob had been left at a ‘significant disadvantage’ in competing with rivals like Apple Inc. due to the hiatus as regulators have closely reviewed the $750 million acquisition, which was announced in November,” Adegoke reports. “He said he expects a decision in a few weeks.”

“In an interview with Reuters Insider, Schmidt was asked what Google would do in the event of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suing to block the deal,” Adegoke reports. “‘We’re likely to fight very hard,’ he said. ‘It’s a very strategic acquisition for Google.’ …Schmidt said Apple’s changes in terms of services ‘discriminatory against other partners.'”

MacDailyNews Note: The report doesn’t make it clear which of “Apple’s changes in terms of services” Schmidt believes are “discriminatory,” but if we had to guess, we’d say he’s referring to Apple reserving access to Core Location and other information for their iAd system.

Adegoke continues, “Schmidt, who was previously an Apple director, stepped down from Apple’s board last August when it became clear the two companies would be competing more directly in the wireless space. He insisted that he and Apple CEO Steve Jobs remain good friends and that the two companies will remain both rivals and collaborators in different business areas. “‘The relationship will continue to be complicated,’ he said.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: As we’ve written before, “Apple’s outright domination on the iPhone and iPad will be assured regardless of whether or not the FTC allows Google to acquire AdMob – as long as the FTC doesn’t somehow attempt to cripple Apple’s iAd or force Apple to allow third-party ad networks access to Core Location and other user data that Apple currently disallows, not just for competitive advantage, but also for user security. In the clear absence of a monopoly, there seems to be no reason for the FTC to compel Apple to do either thing to or with their platform. Certainly, the FTC shouldn’t be in the business of trying to predict monopolies and attempting to regulate them where they do not currently exist. Also, monopolies are legal unless abused (ask Microsoft about that), so without a monopoly situation, there can obviously be no monopoly abuse to correct, which is yet another reason why the FTC shouldn’t act.”