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Web Users Concerned About Privacy on Google, Facebook. Will ‘Do Not Track’ Help?
In a statement, Consumer Watchdog said the Gallup/USA Today poll underscores the need for “do not track” legislation. The group pointed to a poll it conducted last summer that found that 90 percent of the 1,000 people it polled wanted legislation to protect their online privacy, while another 80 percent supported “do not track.” Another 86 percent wanted a single button that would enable anonymous Web browsing.
Continue reading...Google Helps Mortgage Scammers Con Needy Homeowners, Study Finds
10. February 2011
Public advocacy group Consumer Watchdog says Google ads are helping mortgage relief fraudsters trick desperate homeowners, and has contacted the FTC to help make them stop.
Continue reading...Report: Privacy Worries Many Facebook, Google Users
9. February 2011
Ifmany of their users are worried specifically about privacy, Google and Facebook should support efforts to get the U.S. government to implement and enforce a “do not track” legislation and mechanism, Consumer Watchdog said in a statement in reaction to the survey.
Continue reading...Most Facebook, Google Users Worry About Privacy and Security
9. February 2011
Data flowing through the Web have translated into a candy store for criminals. It’s easier than ever for even low-skilled hackers to spread infections via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter postings and corrupted Google search results — and take full control of Web-connected PCs. And those risks are intensifying with rising use of smartphones and mobile devices to access the Web. “A smartphone is more appropriately called a spyphone,” says John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit advocacy group. “The mobile world is like the wild west.”
Continue reading...Is Google’s Copying Complaint Fair or Hypocritical?
2. February 2011
When involved in a spat over allegations of unauthorized copying or misappropriation of content and ideas, Google — fairly or not — usually plays the villain… “Google’s complaint is the height of hypocrisy. The company’s entire business model is built on the use of other people’s content usually without bothering to seek permission,” said John Simpson, from Consumer Watchdog’s Inside Google research team.
Continue reading...Analysis: Consumer Watchdog’s Complaints Against Google
1. February 2011
Consumer Watchdog has taken their public war of words with Google to a whole new level. The group’s recent 32-page report generates complaints that suggest Google is benefitting from US corporatism.
Continue reading...Watchdog Group Questions Google’s Relationship with NSA
1. February 2011
Google is in hot water again — or it will be if Consumer Watchdog can persuade the public to ask Congress to take action over the Google “Wi-Spy scandal.” Additionally, Consumer Watchdog published a report, Lost in the Cloud: Google and the US Government, that highlights Google’s relationship with NSA and claims the search giant has also “inappropriately benefited” from close and secretive relationships with other government agencies.
Continue reading...Watchdog Demands Transparency on Google’s Million Dollar Lobbying
1. February 2011
Google has been called on to give greater transparency to its lobbying in Washington following its refusal to release details from a presentation that seeks to persuade governmental policy makers and regulators of its compliance to competitiveness rules. Consumer Watchdog, which describes itself as a nonprofit, nonpartisan, consumer advocacy organization, has called for the 89-page presentation, which will be shown during a forthcoming meeting, to be made public.
Continue reading...Google Spent More on Lobbyists in 2010 Than Yahoo, Facebook & Apple Combined
31. January 2011
Google’s increasing monetary dedication to influencing policy decisions worries some privacy advocates who oppose the company’s policies. “It’s a huge increase and shows that Google has become a high-stakes influence peddler throwing its weight around Washington like the rest of corporate America,” says John Simpson, a privacy advocate with Consumer Watchdog, a group that regularly opposes Google’s decisions.
Continue reading...Google Won’t Be Taken To Court Over Data Gather
31. January 2011
Consumer Watchdog, a group which has been highly critical of Google’s privacy practices, condemned the agreement to settle the issue through negotiations and called for congressional hearings on the subject.
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10. February 2011