Brussels, 11/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - In the light of recent debates in the US Congress and the decision of the Federal Trade Commission on the Google-DoubleClick merger, the European Parliament civil liberties committee (Libe) is to hold a hearing on “Data protection on the internet: Google-DoubleClick and other case studies. “The aim is to examine, with the contributions of the main institutional actors, industry and consumer representatives, how better to protect the freedom of expression and pluralism on internet while, at the same time, protecting the personal data of the internet users,” Parliament says in a working document. During the hearing, various issues will be debated including the issue of online advertising and behavioural targeting. Thanks to “cookies”, DoubleClick monitors the sites visited by almost 80% of surfers, in order to send them adverts tailored to their interests. The Google-DoubleClick merger raises fears of systematic exploitation of surfers' personal data. The European Commission will complete its investigation into the acquisition of DoubleClick by 2 April 2008. (B.C.)