Brussels, 11/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - Franco Frattini, European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, pointed out on Monday 10 March that clearance by European competition services of Google's acquisition of DoubleClick does not mean that the new entity thus formed is free from the obligation to comply with privacy concerns. “Independently of the clearance for this merger, the entity should uphold fundamental rights (…) including privacy and data protection”, Mr Frattini warned during a debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. In May 2007, Google paid out $3.1 billion for the DoubleClick takeover. Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the highest anti-trust authority in the United States, announced in December 2007 that it would not seek to prevent Google's acquisition deal, the European Commission decided to open an in-depth investigation to verify the impact that the deal would have on online advertising market management and commercialisation. The Commission is to reach a decision on the merger by 2 April 2008. The European Commission had, however, stated that it would not take data protection into account. The acquisition deal therefore gives rise for concern, especially at the European Parliament (EUROPE 9585). (B.C.)