FTC may challenge Google/AdMob

Google's 2009 bid to acquire mobile advertising specialist AdMob may be in trouble.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly considering a bid to block the planned merger between the search giant and the ad specialist.

According a report from the Wall Street Journal citing internal sources, the commission is in the process of assembling a legal team to challenge the bid and is contacting competitors about possibly testifying about antitrust concerns.

The news is not the first indication that Google's efforts to acquire AdMob could come under fire. Late last year a consumer advocacy group lobbied the commission to begin an investigation of the deal.

Opponents of the acquisition have claimed that a partnership with Admob would put Google in a position to use the customer information from its web services for targeted ads that are based on what would otherwise be considered private user information.

Additionally, opposition to the deal has been lobbied on the grounds that Google would gain an unfair advantage in the market by acquiring AdMob.

Google first announced the AdMob acquisition in November of last year. The deal was part of an ongoing buying spree by Google that most recently included firms such as On2 Technologies and Episodic.

The AdMob deal was also cited as a factor in similar acquisitions by Google's mobile competitors, such as iPhone creator Apple Inc.