Lawmaker Barton queries Yahoo on Google deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee has sent a letter to Yahoo's chief executive expressing concern about the effect of Yahoo's deal with Google on Internet users' privacy and advertising rates.

Rep. Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, wrote Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang on Wednesday, saying that Google and Yahoo's plan to share some advertising and revenue "raises several concerns, not only about the effect of the partnership on the online search advertising market, but also about the protections for Yahoo user data."

Barton noted the consolidation of the online advertising market, about 10 percent of the overall ad market, in the past two years. "I am concerned about how this collaboration will impact competition within the online search advertising industry," he said in the letter, dated June 18.

The lawmaker also asked Yahoo about documents filed in court in January 2008, suggesting that Yahoo itself was concerned that a Google collaboration would violate antitrust laws as Google is by far the dominant search engine and Yahoo a strong No. 2.

Together they have about 80 percent of the search market, with Microsoft coming in third.

Barton also asked Yang about privacy issues. "I am also concerned about how the relationship between Google and Yahoo will affect the collection, storage and use of data relating to an individual's online activity," he wrote.

Yang was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, meeting with lawmakers. Among them was Sen. Herb Kohl, chair of a Senate antitrust subcommittee and a Wisconsin Democrat.

"Primarily, the senator's concerns have been about the implications of the two largest online competitors for advertising (working together), the consequences for advertisers and consumers and privacy," said Kohl spokesman Rohit Mahajan.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Gunna Dickson)