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Google Downplays Claim It May Have Breached Lawmakers’ Home Networks
Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based advocacy group that has been a sharp critic of Google’s privacy practices in the past, said Thursday that the search giant may have breached the networks while its vehicles were collecting wireless SSID information for the company’s Street View service.
Continue reading...Google Accused of US “Snooping”
9. July 2010
Google’s popular Street View project may have collected personal information of members of Congress, including some involved in national security issues. The claim was made by leading advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog which wants Congress to hold hearings into what data Google’s Street View possesses.
Continue reading...Sniffing in StreetView’s Tracks
8. July 2010
Google’s horrendous breach of privacy with its StreetView data-collection gaffe may at least have one beneficial consequence: making WiFi users think more about security. Consumer Watchdog, which has emerged as one of the main anti-Google agitators, decided to follow in the tracks of the StreetView cars – literally. It sent out its own vehicle to “sniff” the WiFi networks of certain members of the US Congress whose homes have been photographed by the Google service.
Continue reading...Consumer Group Says Google May Have Tapped State Secrets
8. July 2010
To find out, Consumer Watchdog picked five members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and drove around their D.C. homes. Using software downloaded from the Internet, they determined one of the five – Democrat Jane Harman of El Segundo – was using two unsecured networks.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Wades Into ‘SpyFi’ Fiasco
8. July 2010
COULD GOOGLE SPY-FI SNIFF OUT LAWMAKERS? Maybe, stresses Consumer Watchdog, a longtime, vocal Google critic. The group plans to make the case at a press conference on Thursday that Google’s Street View team not only intercepted unsuspecting Web users’ data transmitted over unsecured private networks, but is capable of doing the same with lawmakers’ sensitive information as well.
Continue reading...Google Should Answer Some Searching Questions
30. June 2010
Google woos people with its “don’t be evil” slogan and assures us that everything it does is meant to enhance our online experience. But a new study by US advocacy group Consumer Watchdog – of which I am part – has found evidence that the internet giant’s search results are skewed to its own advantage.
Continue reading...Google: Wi-Fi Spy Data Wasn’t Used
11. June 2010
Some consumer advocates said the problem is that Google did not seem more open with what happened and why. “As this has unfolded we learn more,” said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, which has criticized Google in the past. “I would like to see Google come clean about what they gathered.”
Continue reading...Ten Consumer Advocate Groups Ask Congress to Strengthen Privacy Bill
8. June 2010
“The problem is that the bill relies too much on the idea of ‘notice and consent,’ which really hasn’t worked,” said John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog, Washington. “It also pre-empts stronger state laws and does not allow private action suits. These provisions are extremely unfriendly for consumers.
Continue reading...Watchdog Says Google Has ‘Microsoft-like Monopoly’ in Key Web Areas
7. June 2010
“Google claims that its search is neutral,” said John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog. “This study shows that it’s not and demonstrates the damaging impact Google’s unfair practices have had on competitors.”
Continue reading...Should Silicon Valley Be Worried About a Backlash?
5. June 2010
Just last week, Consumer Watchdog released a report claiming Google abuses its dominance of search to steer users to its other products. The revelation that the Google Street View team in Europe had “accidentally” collected large amounts of personal user data through Wi-Fi connections certainly hasn’t helped.
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9. July 2010