Inside Google

As Google’s lobbyists’ efforts soar, they claim to speak for you

John M. Simpson

It’s not surprising that Google wants clout in Washington and is willing to spend big bucks to ensure that its corporate voice is heard.  What surprised me, though, is the…

Google, like Slick Willie Sutton, goes where the money is

John M. Simpson

Google is crowing about a decision from the European Court of Justice Tuesday that says it has
the legal right to continue exploiting other people’s good names in its
quest to pile up more cash.

Google does the right thing in China, but not necessarily for the right reason

John M. Simpson

Google
stopped self-censoring its Chinese search engine, Google.cn, on Monday and
redirected that site’s visitors to Google.com.hk, its site based in Hong Kong.
As part of the move Google starting making search results on the Hong
Kong site available in simplified Chinese characters, which are used in the
People’s Republic of China.

Google China: Search Engine’s Stand Against Censorship Welcomed By Campaigners

Caroline Davies

Google’s decision to stop filtering search results hailed as triumph for internet freedom and a boost to the people for China

Consumer Watchdog, the California consumer, education and advocacy
organization agreed: "Google should be commended for its action. The
internet giant should never have censored results in the first place,
but the action is a strong move towards supporting freedom of speech on
the internet," said consumer advocate John Simpson.

Google’s Gmail and Chrome Pose Privacy Risks – ABC-7

John M. Simpson

Press Release

FTC May Put Kibosh On Google’s AdMob Deal

CONTACT: Erika Morphy

Despite the fact that the mobile advertising market is still young and fragmented, U.S. regulators apparently are concerned that Google’s proposed acquisition of AdMob could give it an unfair competitive advantage. Google got an inkling that the FTC might want to give the deal a second look shortly after it was announced. At the end of December, the company received a "second request" for
additional information from the agency, Paul Feng, group product
manager, wrote in Google’s Public Policy blog. Shortly thereafter, two consumer groups — Consumer Watchdog and the
Center for Digital Democracy — asked the Federal Trade Commission to block the deal, arguing that it would lessen competition and harm consumers, advertisers and application developers, among others.

Press Release

Slide show features companies Google calls competition

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

I recently delved into Google’s 10-K filing covering 2009 with the Securities and Exchange…

Press Release

Google Identifies Competitors

CONTACT: Mike Swift

Google sees an Internet far more crowded with competitors than just a year ago. At least, that’s what the company is telling government regulators. Critics of Google’s dominance in search — Americans use Google for
about two thirds of U.S. searches, and the company has more than 70
percent of U.S. search advertising revenue, and about 90 percent in
Europe — say the expanded list of competitors is an attempt by Google
to paper over its dominance. "I think they are feeling the heat from several serious antitrust
investigations, and that’s reflected in the language they are using in
the 10-K," said John Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog. He argued in a
recent blog post that Google’s statements that it has many competitors
actually proves that "the opposite is actually true" and that "the real
risk to Google’s business is not from competition," but that regulators
in the U.S. and Europe "will act in the interest of consumers and force
the Internet giant to engage" in competition.

Candidates Find Incumbent Advantage Extends To Web

Sara Jerome

Thirteen years in the House and a stint as majority leader have furnished Rep.Roy Blunt, R-Mo., with useful GOP and K Street support for his Senate bid. But Blunt’s long resume also means a boost from another source: Google. Google’s overwhelming dominance of the search market has brought its
power to determine marketplace outcomes under new scrutiny this year.
Tech company Foundem and other so-called "search neutrality" advocates
allege that the search engine is gaining an unfair advantage by
favoring its own products in searches. The advocacy group Consumer
Watchdog wrote the Justice Department last week urging it to
investigate the issue, while the European Commission is already
checking out complaints from Foundem and others.

The Onion nails Google on privacy

John M. Simpson

The Onion, the satirical newspaper, has an on-the-mark article today that makes you realize why people are concerned about the amount of information Internet giant…