Good news:
Google’s $1.1 billion acquisition of social mapping startup Waze has drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission after all. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Google has been contacted by FTC lawyers intending to conduct an antitrust review of the acquisition. Google declined to comment but did confirm to the WSJ that it has been contacted by the FTC over the deal.
The Monster of Mountain View should not be allowed to acquire Waze. There isn’t enough competition in the mapping space. The only significant other players today are Google, Microsoft + Nokia’s NavTeq, and TomTom/TeleAtlas (which powers BlackBerry Maps and Apple Maps). Aside from those and OpenStreetMap, that’s it.
If Google buys Waze, there is one fewer competitor in the market, which is a real problem. Google’s intention is to own the space, and they can’t be allowed to do that. That’s why it’s a good thing the FTC has launched a review of this unacceptable proposed acquisition.