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Consumer Watchdog Asks EU to Block Google, Motorola Deal
A consumer group on Wednesday penned a letter to European regulators asking them to block the pending merger of Google and Motorola Mobility on anticompetitive grounds.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Urges EU to Block Google’s Motorola Deal
23. January 2012
A U.S. consumer advocacy group has written to the European Commission asking it to block Google’s deal to acquire Motorola and to launch an investigation into the Internet giant’s alleged anti-competitive behavior.
Continue reading...Los Angeles Axes Plans to Add Police Email to Google Cloud
16. December 2011
The issues surrounding the Google Apps deal with Los Angeles came to a head in October, when Santa Monica, Calif.-based Consumer Watchdog released on its website a letter from Los Angeles CTO Randi Levin to systems integrator CSC that formally requested that CSC refund to Los Angeles money spent on seat licenses and migration costs associated with moving its law enforcement and criminal justice personnel to Google’s cloud product.
Continue reading...Lawmakers, Consumer Advocates Urge Federal Probe of Carrier IQ Mobile Services
5. December 2011
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Sen. Al Franken D-Minn., and Consumer Watchdog are asking federal regulators to investigate whether mobile software firm Carrier IQ’s practices violate consumer privacy rights. And groups like the Center for Digital Democracy are calling for federal privacy legislation. The company came under fire after reports that its software, installed on many major carriers’ smartphones, collects and transmits potentially sensitive data about device users. Carriers using Carrier IQ claimed they solely use the service to improve and maintain network performance.
Continue reading...Carrier IQ Defends Itself in Furor Over Smartphone Users’ Privacy
3. December 2011
Advocacy groups such as Free Press in Washington, D.C., and Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica called for congressional and regulatory probes into Carrier IQ. And on Friday, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the company. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) sent the company a letter requesting information about its data collection practices.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Wants Probe of Carrier IQ, Carriers
2. December 2011
Consumer Watchdog has called for a U.S. government investigation of Carrier IQ, the maker of tracking software for mobile phones, and its users.
Continue reading...Carrier IQ Faces Lawsuits, Lawmaker Seeks FTC Probe
2. December 2011
The Consumer Watchdog activist group asked the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the “Spyphone Scandal.” “The probe should extend beyond the software developer, Carrier IQ, and include operating systems developers like Google and Apple as well as carriers and device manufacturers, the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group said.
Continue reading...Carrier IQ: Consumer Watchdog Asks Justice, FCC to Investigate
2. December 2011
Advocacy group Consumer Watchdog announced this afternoon that it has sent letters to the Justice Department and the FCC calling on them to investigate not only Carrier IQ, but also operating system makers, as well as handset manufacturers and phone carriers for their role in what it has dubbed the “Spyphone scandal.”
Continue reading...All Eyes On Carrier IQ Following Spyware Allegations
1. December 2011
“If they’re gathering every individual’s keystrokes, that’s a tremendous invasion of privacy, John Simpson, director of the privacy project at Consumer Watchdog, told TechNewsWorld.
Continue reading...Criminal Probe Into Online Mortgage Scams Widens
21. November 2011
Consumer Watchdog, a group that published a study about mortgage ad scams nine months ago, is calling for criminal charges and financial penalties against the major search engines in the current investigation. “These Internet company executives were active enablers of fraud against vulnerable homeowners,” said John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project. “They cannot be allowed to benefit from these ill-gotten gains.”
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23. January 2012