Inside Google

Prosecutor says Larry Page knew Google was breaking the law

John M. Simpson

It became clear over the weekend why Google agreed to a whopping $500 million settlement with the Justice Department to end criminal charges that it aided in the sale of illegal drugs from Canada. Co-founder and CEO Larry Page knew that the Internet giant was breaking the law.

FTC ‘carefully monitoring’ online tracking

John M. Simpson

I just received an encouraging letter from the Federal Trade Commission assuring me that its Division of Privacy and Identity Protection is “carefully monitoring the privacy issues associated with online tracking.” The letter, from Maneesha Mithal, the division’s Associate Director, was in response to our recent complaint about companies who said they would not track […]

Does Google-Motorola Pose Anti-Competitive Danger?

Jamie Court

What if Google, the master of the cloud computing universe and the Internet’s information monopolist, were to buy Intel, Apple, or IBM? Would we want the company that controls information outside of our computers all along the Internet to also have control over a principal computer hardware maker and its patents?

We need a right to be forgotten

John M. Simpson

I remember as a young newspaper reporter going to different jurisdictions where public records were kept and putting together background information on an individual. I had to have a compelling reason to do it, because although the records were public, it took considerable effort to gather the information. With the Internet and the advent of […]

Is Google adding a default security setting?

John M. Simpson

One of the dangers of using public Wi-Fi networks at coffee shops and the like is that anybody else on the network can read your email, Facebook postings, search requests and easily hack into your account unless the data is encrypted. The most common is SSL encryption using the HTTPS protocol.  If you use it, […]

Should you believe what Eric Schmidt says or what Google does?

John M. Simpson

Actions speak louder than words. That’s why I’m not putting much stock in what Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt says anymore.

Google: Just another corporation …

John M. Simpson

Part of Google’s appeal has been the way its executives have been able to portray the Internet giant as not a typical corporateering behemoth simply focused on fattening the bottom line. I’ve argued that despite the self-serving attempt to portray their company as something different, Google is in fact like the rest. Google executives’ acts and words this week show I’m right.

Google and Facebook lobby expense reports likely to set new records Wednesday

John M. Simpson

Lobbying expenditure reports are due to be filed with the the Senate Office of Public Records Wednesday and you can expect record expenditures from both Facebook and Google.

Press Release

FTC targets Google for antitrust probe

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

Since April when Bloomberg News reported that the Federal Trade Commission was contemplating a full-blown antitrust investigation of Google, people who follow the Internet giant have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did on Thursday with the report in the Wall Street Journal that the five-member Commission is about to serve Google with civil subpoenas — known as Civil Investigative Demands — about its business practices.

Google’s Do Not Track answer doesn’t track

John M. Simpson

If you follow a company closely, like I follow Google, there is no better place to remind its executives of your continued interest than the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting. It keeps them on their toes. I own a couple of shares of Google stock, so I headed up to Mountain View Thursday to attend the […]