The FairSearch Coalition has sent a 44-pager paper, entitled, “Google’s Transformation From Gateway To Gatekeeper: How Google’s Exclusionary And Anticompetitive Conduct Restricts Innovation And Deceives Consumers,” to all 50 U.S. Attorneys General. “The paper offers in the greatest detail yet the …

Google’s big antitrust hearing with the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust is today at 2:00PM. The witness list includes: Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Nextag CEO Jeff Katz, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, Covington & Burling LLP partner …

We got an email today from the FairSearch Coalition with a witness list for Google’s upcoming hearing with the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights. The hearing takes place on Wednesday, September 21 …

THe U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights announced today that it will hold a hearing, “The Power of Google: Serving Consumers or Threatening Competition?” on September 21 at 2:00 PM. Last month, we reported …

The DoJ has been scrutinizing Google’s proposed acquisition of ad optimization firm AdMeld for over a month, and has now requested further information from Google. Google has put out a response to this via its Public Policy blog, which basically …

The FairSearch Coalition released a report today, which it calls “an independent critical analysis of reports released by Google about its purported 2009 and 2010 economic impact in the U.S.” Economist Allen Rosenfeld was commissioned by FairSearch to review Google’s …

The FairSearch Coalition, the organization started last year to try (unsuccessfully) and see Google’s acquisition of ITA Software blocked, has launched a new site called Searchville with videos, comic strips and other interactive content, as well as a white paper, …

Last week, Google’s ITA Software acquisition got the greenlight from the Department of Justice, provided certain requirements were honored. Google has now quietly updated its blog post from when that happened with a simple sentence: “Our acquisition of ITA has …

When the announcement came out regarding the Department of Justice’s approval of Google’s acquisition of ITA Software (with certain stipulations), we included a brief statement from FairSearch on the subject. FairSearch is an organization made up mainly of travel sites, …

The U.S. Department of Justice has approved Google’s acquisition of ITA Software, which provides a solution for flight information used by numerous travel sites, and has been the subject of a great deal of controversy related to competition. There are …

As previously reported, Judge Denny Chin rejected a Google Books settlement proposal, which would have enabled Google to scan, digitize, and distribute millions of in copyright, but out-of-print books. Chin concluded in a court document, “In the end, I conclude …

The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) has stated the proposed acquisition of ITA Software by Google may be "straining the boundaries of antitrust analysis, but serious consideration of a challenge is warranted."

The organization has issued a White Paper discussing this.  

President Obama appointed General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt as chairman of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. 

Having worked with Immelt in the past, Ballmer apparently wanted the world to know where he stands. He released the following statement on the Official Microsoft blog:

As you may know, Google is trying to acquire ITA Software, but it has faced various hurdles, mainly led by a coalition called FairSearch, made up of travel sites. Now, the Department of Justice is looking at the deal. 

Update: Adam Kovacevich, Google Sr. Manager, Global Communications and Public Affairs offered us the following statement:

Whether you agree or disagree with its cause, FairSearch, the organization that exists for the sole purpose of stopping Google’s acquisition of ITA Software, deserves credit for its resolve.  Today, FairSearch addressed letters to every member of Congress, asking them to contact the Department of Justice.

Neither Google nor the FairSearch coalition is close to backing down when it comes to the search giant’s proposed acquisition of ITA Software.  Today, Google attempted to highlight an analyst’s comments in support of the deal, and FairSearch fired right back by stressing the same analyst’s doubts.

Google’s $700 million acquisition of ITA Software has just hit another obstacle.  Several high-profile travel companies have banded together to form "the FairSearch.org coalition" and ask the U.S. Department of Justice to challenge the deal.