Microsoft + Yahoo = Yikes

Yesterday's unsolicited offer from Microsoft to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion that was made public this morning is under scrutiny today as we all digest what this might mean for consumers that use Yahoo services. The Justice Department today said it is "interested" in reviewing antitrust issues associated this proposed merger of the two companies. Privacy groups Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) also expressed serious concerns over consumer privacy.
Any time one company absorbs another there are concerns over what happens to customer data. With Yahoo services offering everything from free email to IM to Flickr online picture hosting to Yahoo Groups and personals, not to mention search data it may have on users; another company acquiring all this data is especially concerning. The possibility of Microsoft obtaining it and potentially cross-referencing Yahoo data with it's own is scary.

The Microsoft-Yahoo deal, if consummated, would "create a powerful interactive Internet duopoly in online media," [CDD] said. "Google and Microsoft will have inordinate power to shape the online communications marketplace, including journalism, entertainment and advertising. There are consequences to democratic societies everywhere, as two digital gatekeepers are likely to control how the Internet and other interactive media evolve."

The proposed deal also underscores a need for new laws or regulations that protect consumer data, Chester added. "In an era when individuals are increasingly conducting their personal, social and political lives online, the corporations that control the digital experience will have a far-reaching influence over every aspect of society," he said. "Consumers will be more vulnerable to having their personal information become the property of the GoogleClick's and Microhoo's."