FreedomWorks Opposes FTC Interference with Microsoft-Yahoo Merger

Microsoft’s recently announced plan to acquire internet search giant Yahoo could result in an enormous windfall for Internet users—that is, if the Federal Trade Commission doesn’t get in the way.

The proposed $44 billion, announced last Friday, has already attracted attention from its online search competitors. In a recent posting to market-leader Google’s blog, David Drummond, Google’s Chief Legal Officer, questioned whether Microsoft was attempting to “exert… inappropriate and illegal interference over the Internet,” and urged regulators to review the deal.

Google’s concerns, however, are mainly for its own interests—not consumers’. A Microsoft-Yahoo merger would present a significant threat to Google’s market share. Any movement by the FTC to block or slow the deal would only further entrench Google’s current place at the top of the internet search scrap heap while slowing the innovation that a merger would likely bring.

FreedomWorks opposes regulatory meddling in the marketplace, and urges regulators not to bend to the will of special interests or corporate competitors. The best way for the FTC to preserve a competitive market is to stay out of it.

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe commented, “Microsoft’s size makes it an easy target, but regulators should ignore scare-tactics by competitors hoping to protect their own business models. A merger with Yahoo may ultimately benefit consumers and spur innovation in the marketplace. The FTC should avoid taking sides, and instead let businesses survive and thrive on their merits.”