Inside Google

Google CEO Surprise: Larry Page Replacing Eric Schmidt

Byron Acohido

John Simpson, spokesman for non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, says Schmidt “has put his foot so far in his mouth, so frequently, about privacy that it got him kicked upstairs.” Adds Simpson: “Larry Page stepping in as CEO is a great step, if he remembers where he came from and what the company stood for when he co-founded it.”

Schmidt Out Of Google’s CEO Office, But Is Privacy In?

Jamie Court

Google CEO Eric Schmidt will be leaving the CEO’s office and founder Larry Page will be stepping in. The question is whether this is a signal from the Internet Goliath that Schmidt’s missteps and misstatements about online privacy are no longer company policy.

Consumer Watchdog Welcomes Larry Page As Google’s CEO

John M. Simpson

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today welcomed the announcement that Co-Founder Larry Page will become chief executive officer of the Internet giant and expressed optimism that the changes at the top mean Google will return to the values of its founders.

Google’s CEO Switch Could Be a Risky Move

Juan Carlos Perez

Consumer Watchdog, an organization that has been critical of Google’s privacy policies and missteps, said it welcomes the CEO change. “Eric Schmidt has put his foot in his mouth so far on key issues like privacy that he’s kicked himself out of the CEO’s office,” said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Inside Google Project, in a statement.

Stearns Plans to Introduce Privacy Bill

Juliana Gruenwald

Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson said that Stearns’s effort “shows that protecting online privacy is a bipartisan issue that resonates on both sides of the aisle. Privacy may be one of the areas where Congress can get something done this session.”

Press Release

Google Faces Legal Woes Worldwide

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

It’s been a tough week for Google as it faced legal challenges from around the world, the most prominent being that Department of Justice antitrust staff is preparing for the possibility of a suit to block the Internet giant’s acquisition of ITA.

What happens when you Google ‘caveman’?

Jefferson Morley

Google co-founder Larry Page’s recent purchase of an 187-foot, $45 million yacht is a classic case of “conspicuous consumption.” The term, coined by economist Thorstein Veblen, refers to “the waste of money and/or resources by people to display a higher status than others.”

Wi-Spying Broke South Korean Law; Multi-state Probe Continues

John M. Simpson

South Korean police said Thursday that Google broke the country’s privacy laws when its Street View cars gathered personal information from private Wi-Fi networks. Meanwhile, in the United States, a spokeswoman for Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen told me in a telephone call that the multi-state investigation into Wi-Spy is ongoing.

Does Greed Corrupt Google Search Quality?

Jefferson Morley

Three rants about the decline for Google search quality highlight a phenomenon the better minds of Mountain View can’t afford to ignore, says culture blogger Anil Dash. Or can they?

FTC Chairman Explains “Do Not Track”

John M. Simpson

Federal Trade Chairman Jon Leibowitz, writing in U.S. News & World Report this week, offers one of the clearest explanations I’ve seen of why consumers need a Do Not Track Me function to protect their privacy as they surf the Web.