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Kerry, McCain Introduced Online Privacy Bill
The privacy advocates praised McCain and Kerry for raising the online privacy issue, but said the bill falls short of their expectations. The loopholes in the bill “could leave consumers feeling that they’re far more protected than they are,” said John Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog.
Continue reading...Sens. Kerry and McCain Unveil Major Bill To Safeguard Consumers’ Online Data
12. April 2011
In a letter to the senators, five consumer groups said they welcomed the new legislation, one of several privacy bills introduced or expected this year. But they said the Kerry/McCain legislation was “insufficient” to protect consumers and needed to be strengthened.
Continue reading...US Senators Introduce Online Privacy ‘Bill Of Rights’
12. April 2011
A coalition of consumer groups and privacy advocates welcomed the bipartisan effort but said in a letter to the senators that the legislation needs to be “significantly strengthened if it is to effectively protect consumer privacy rights in today’s digital marketplace.”
Continue reading...Google’s $700 Million ITA Buy Cleared With Conditions
9. April 2011
Another group, Consumer Watchdog, expressed concern that even with the conditions on the deal, Google will “ultimately win control of the travel search industry, driving ticket prices up for consumers.”
Continue reading...DoJ Green-Lights Google Takeover of ITA with Several Conditions
8. April 2011
Consumer Watchdog and the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) both expressed measured confidence about the proposal as well. Consumer Watchdog said the DoJ’s conditions would “focus unprecedented and necessary regulatory scrutiny on the Internet giant,” but that even with the rules in place, Google could still drive up ticket prices due to its dominance in search.
Continue reading...State Eyes Do-Not-Track Legislation
6. April 2011
A number of recent public opinion surveys have shown support for do-not-track mechanisms. Consumer Watchdog said a poll commissioned last summer showed that 84% of respondents wanted to prevent online companies from tracking personal information without a person’s explicit, written approval.
Continue reading...‘Do Not Track Me’ Laws Seek To Protect Consumer Privacy Online
6. April 2011
The state bill (SB 671), the so-called “Do Not Track Me” law, would allow people to opt out of the “collection, use, and storage” of personal data by any firm. Consumer Watchdog, a backer of the bill, has challenged Google to support such privacy protection.
Continue reading...State Senator’s Do Not Track Bill On Internet Data
5. April 2011
John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog said it’s still unclear whether any of the federal measures will pass and, in any case, there’s no reason for the Golden State to wait. It could put pressure on federal legislators and regulators to catch up. He noted that a law implementing the “Do Not Call” register, which many see as an analog to “Do Not Track,” passed in California before a federal law was enacted.
Continue reading...Pandora Filing Suggests Federal Privacy Probe
5. April 2011
Privacy advocates welcomed the idea of a grand jury probe, saying consumers often had little information about how the apps they downloaded were sharing data collected from their mobile devices. “I think of them as spy phones, not smart phones,” said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project.
Continue reading...California Lawmaker Touts Do-Not-Track Bill
4. April 2011
In December, the FTC recommended that the technology industry create a do-no-track tool for Web users. In the following months, Google, Mozilla and Microsoft all announced do-not-track features in their browsers. Those browsers offer simple ways for Web users to opt out of tracking efforts, said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s privacy director.
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12. April 2011