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Google Centers Privacy Policies Around Google+
This privacy practice changes will likely also provoke protests from the Electronic Information Privacy Center, which is currently opposing Search, plus your world, as well as the Consumer Watchdog agency.
Continue reading...Who Would Pay $5,000 to Use Google? (You)
25. January 2012
The European Union announced new proposals Wednesday to keep online data private. In the U.S., there is a growing chorus of lawmakers who want to do the same . Currently, there are no state or federal limits on what information can be collected or with whom it can be shared, according to John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project, a California-based non-profit organization. Online data gathered can also be used in marketing housing, insurance, and financial services, Simpson says.
Continue reading...EU Releases Broad Internet Privacy Recommendations
25. January 2012
A pro-privacy group, Consumer Watchdog, says the “landmark” recommendations are a boon for anyone concerned about keeping personal information private. Consumer Watchdog, a longtime Google critic, pointed to Google’s decision to integrateGoogle+ information into search results as a sign that new regulations are necessary to protect consumers.
Continue reading...U.S. Firms Wary of EU’s Proposed Privacy Changes
25. January 2012
“Once Google and Facebook are following European rules, there will be no way for the companies to justify the obviously inadequate protection in the U.S.,” John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a vocal Google critic, said in a statement. Google has come under fire after it said Tuesday that it plans to begin tracking users and collecting data about them as they move from one Google service to another.
Continue reading...Google Tops as ‘Lord of the Lobbying’ with $10 Million in 2011
24. January 2012
“They’ve decided to play the corrupt corporate cash and carry Washington (game) like many firms such as Microsoft have long done,” John Simpson, a consumer advocate for Consumer Watchdog, told CNET. “What sets them apart, though, is they still hold themselves out to be different from the rest.”
Continue reading...Spending Plus Online Clout Put Google In Lobbying Class of Its Own
24. January 2012
Google’s spending caught the eye of its critics. The group Consumer Watchdog, which consistently targets Google, accused the company’s executives of having “no qualms about spending lots of money to get their way.”
Continue reading...Consumers Oppose Google-Motorola Mobile Merger
24. January 2012
An American consumer advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog, wrote to Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, on 24 January, to ask him to ban Google’s proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobile (see separate article). “Google controls 95% of the mobile search market.
Continue reading...Google Overtakes Microsoft in Federal Lobbying Spending
24. January 2012
Consumer Watchdog is one such organization that took umbrage to Google’s lobbying spend, which is up 88 percent from 2010. The consumer advocate said Google has abandoned its “Don’t Be Evil” roots by buying into “Washington’s corrupt “cash and carry” political system.
Continue reading...Q4 2011 Lobbying Report Shows Google Spending Skyrocketed
24. January 2012
Consumer Watchdog condemned the increased lobbying by web services. Google “has abandoned its idealistic ‘Don’t Be Evil’ roots and has bought into Washington’s corrupt ‘cash and carry’ political system,” the consumer group said. “Facebook, relatively new to the Washington lobbying scene, now appears headed down the same morally bankrupt path as Google,” Consumer Watchdog said. Facebook declined to respond. Google didn’t answer a request for comment.
Continue reading...Google Has Long Had Ability To Track You Across Its Services
24. January 2012
“What these unilateral decisions by Google and Facebook demonstrate is a complete disregard for their users’ interests and concerns,” says John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog. “It’s an uncommonly arrogant approach not usually seen in business, where these companies believe they can do whatever they want with our data, whenever and however they want to do it.”
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25. January 2012