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Google Shells Out $500M to DoJ Over Shady Drug Ads
Google has agreed to a US$500 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for allowing online Canadian pharmacies to place ads through its AdWords program targeting consumers in the United States.
Continue reading...Critics Calls for Deeper Scrutiny of Dubious Google Ads
24. August 2011
The non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog is calling for federal regulators to take a closer look at home loan, credit repair and health products ads that rely on Google’s AdWords technology to saturate the Internet with dubious advertising claims. That comes after the U.S. Department of Justice today hit Google with a $500 million sanction for enabling AdWords ads promoting illegal pharmaceutical drugs.
Continue reading...Web Tracking Has Become A Privacy Time Bomb
3. August 2011
Google has been widely known to scan the contents of Gmail messages to deliver targeted text ads. While some don’t mind, others believe scanning e-mail to deliver more relevant ads is an invasion of privacy. John Simpson, spokesman for the non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, isn’t convinced the search giant will necessarily stop there. “Part of the problem is that Google collects and stores tremendous amounts of data about its users,” Simpson says. “The only assurance we have about what Google’s intentions are boils down to ‘Trust us.'”
Continue reading...Stanford Study Shows Opting Out Of Web Tracking Not So Easy
22. July 2011
The study has prompted a privacy group, Consumer Watchdog, to ask the FTC to investigate whether eight online advertising companies engaged in deceptive trade practices by saying they would delete “tracking cookies” but actually left them in place.
Continue reading...Google And Facebook Spent Record Amounts On Lobbying In Q2 2011
21. July 2011
It’s no secret that former CEO and current Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has been spending more time in the Beltway, helping with government relations. In fact, Schmidt is actually going to testify before the Senate on possible Google antitrust issues. Because of his increased presence in D.C., public interest organization Consumer Watchdog is actually calling for Schmidt’s activities in Washington D.C. to be scrutinized to see if he needs to register formally as a lobbyist.
Continue reading...Google and Facebook Splurge on Lobbying in Q2
21. July 2011
Some of the issues Google focused on include competition in online advertising, online privacy and security, free trade, censorship, the H.R. 399 bill and trademark issues. Google’s presence in the U.S. government is spurring some policy watchers, like Consumer Watchdog to call for Eric Schmidt to register as a lobbyist. “Schmidt could well have reached the threshold requiring registration as a lobbyist; he is clearly trying to influence policy,” said John M. Simpson, Director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest group’s Privacy Project. “It certainly should be checked out.”
Continue reading...Mr. Schmidt Goes To Washington: Google Lobbying Hits New High
21. July 2011
Google’s increasing influence in Washington is setting off alarm bells for some policy watchers. California-based public interest group Consumer Watchdog is calling for Google chairman Eric Schmidt to register formally as a lobbyist, since he personally is spending increasing amounts of time working in government relations. “Schmidt could well have reached the threshold requiring registration as a lobbyist; he is clearly trying to influence policy,” said Consumer Watchdog director John Simpson in a press release issued Thursday. “It certainly should be checked out.”
Continue reading...The Cost of Lost Privacy: How Google and Datamining Drive Economic Inequality in Our Nation
15. July 2011
Why has economic inequality increased so radically in the United States over the last generation? General explanations range from globalization to the decline in trade unions to rising returns to education — and therefore the loss of income to the less educated. These all no doubt play a role but in an age of information, […]
Continue reading...Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to Testify Before Congress on Wi-Spy Scandal
11. July 2011
John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project commented on the news, “A top Google executive will finally face serious questioning about the company’s behavior.”
Continue reading...Google And The White House Too Chummy While Firm Under Investigation, Consumer Group Says
8. July 2011
A leading California consumer group has formally asked White House counsel to rule on the ethics of what it calls the Obama Administration’s “inappropriate” outreach — including State Dinner invites — to head honchos of Google, a firm reportedly under criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
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24. August 2011