Tag Archive | "Gmail"
Google Offers Users A Peek At Stored Data
Google, which has been criticized frequently for amassing large amounts of data about people, is giving users an easy way to find out what information it stores in their accounts. John Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog, a frequent critic of Google, said Dashboard gave users the appearance of control over privacy but did not really prevent Google from tracking users across the Web. “What the Dashboard does is list all the information linked directly to your name, but what it doesn’t do is let you know and control the data directly tied to your computer’s IP address, which is Google’s black box and data mine, Mr. Simpson said in a press release. “Google isn’t truly protecting privacy until it lets you control that information.”
Continue reading...Google Creates Privacy Dashboard
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Google, which has had a bullseye on its back when it comes to Internet privacy, on Thursday launched a Web site that shows people what data Gmail, Google Calendar and more than a dozen other Google products store about them. John Simpson of consumer-advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog said the dashboard focuses on data that people have consciously shared with Google while they are logged into various Google accounts, but ignores all the data that Google collects and ties to a user’s computer address and through other software, known as cookies. “The dashboard is really the appearance of control without giving users the ability to see how Google tracks them all over the place,” he said.
Continue reading...Google Dashboard Is Small Step For User Control, Consumer Watchdog Says
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Group Calls for 'Make-Me-Anonymous' Button On Home Page SANTA MONICA, CA -- The new Google Dashboard touted by the Internet giant as offering users “transparency, choice and control” of user data stored by the company doesn’t give consumers adequate control over protecting their information from Google’s marketing machine, Consumer Watchdog said today. Consumer Watchdog applauded the company for giving consumers a single place to go to manage data, but said Google needed to give consumers the ability to stop being tracked by the company and to delete information associated with their computer’s IP address from the Google servers.
Continue reading...Big Bird’s Birthday: Part Of Google’s Charm Campaign?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
For Big Bird's birthday, the Sesame Street icon's feet replaced the L in Google's search logo. Is Google pressing Big Bird into the service of its charm offensive? Critics say its corporate motto of “Don’t be evil” is a smoke screen for invasive procedures that are stripping away privacy (like scanning your gmail account for keywords to create targeted advertising). “I love Google. But I also fear Google,” says Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “It’s made finding information remarkably easy, but I’m not under any illusion that that’s a free lunch. And most Internet users have had their eyes opened recently to the fact that they are being tracked and they don’t have a way of stopping that.”
Continue reading...Google To Unveil New Privacy Controls
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Google Inc. will announce a feature tomorrow that will give users more control over their online privacy, according to a consumer advocate who discussed the matter with the company. John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog hasn't reviewed Google Dashboard yet, because he refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement. But attorneys for the Mountain View search giant informed him the new feature would be unveiled on Thursday, he told The Chronicle.
Continue reading...Google Beats Microsoft in the E-Mail Battle of Los Angeles
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Google won the battle with Microsoft for the right to move Los Angeles' 30,000 municipal employees to its e-mail system, knocking out Novell's GroupWise platform for the $7.25 million contract. However, the contract comes with a caveat. Google must compensate the city if its e-mail service is breached and data is stolen. The Los Angeles Council voted to add the penalty provision 9-3. Consumer advocates applauded this motion. "Los Angeles residents cannot be sure the city's confidential or sensitive data will be secure," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog, "but at least they know there will be a penalty if security is compromised. It's essential that this project be closely watched to ensure that Google keeps its promises."
Continue reading...Google Selected To Handle City’s E-mail Operation
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
CONTRACT: Deal Could Save $5 Million, But Some Still Have Security Concerns Google trumped Microsoft and Novell on Tuesday, winning a $7.25 million contract to create an e-mail system for workers in Los Angeles. John Simpson with the group Consumer Watchdog warned against adopting the Google system until more work is completed on security. "It may be the thing of the future, but I'm not sure it is there yet," Simpson said. "The security checks don't exist yet. It is the gleam in Google's eyes." Part of the City Council's approval was based on promises from Google that it will reimburse the city for any damages.
Continue reading...Twitter Breach Revives Cloud Security Fears
Monday, August 10, 2009
Some interest groups are urging Los Angeles to rethink its plan to implement Google Apps. Last month's breach of a hosted Google Apps implementation used by Twitter Inc. has heightened fears in some quarters that cloud computing could pose significant security and privacy risks to users. Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group based in Santa Monica, Calif., said the Twitter incident raises questions about whether "Google's cloud as offered provides adequate safeguards." In a letter to several Los Angeles city councilors, the group urged that city IT personnel first test Google Apps with a small group of users, rather than following the current plan of implementing it for 30,000 users by the end of this year.
Continue reading...L.A. Council committee meeting on Google plan postponed again
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A proposal to switch Los Angeles city government's email and some other computer applications to a "...
Continue reading...Long Term, The Microsoft-Yahoo Deal Could Benefit Consumers
Friday, July 31, 2009
John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog raised concerns about how users' personal data is collected, stored and shared. He's worried about "up-until-now separate databases being merged and used in ways that haven't been made explicit." Simpson hopes to see Microsoft and Yahoo come up with a data retention policy that expunges personal information in about a month and says that, by default, they shouldn't collect behavioral information unless consumers opt-in.
Continue reading...
Thursday, November 5, 2009
0 Comments