Tag Archive | "justice department"
Justice Probes Antitrust Issues In Google Deal With Publishers
Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, also predicted the settlement would "pass muster" because it opens up new markets. But those concerned about the settlement said they were pleased with the Justice Department's letter. "This is now a clear step that they are taking the matter seriously." said John M. Simpson, an advocate for Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit consumer group.
Continue reading...Justice Is Probing Google’s Book Deal
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Justice Department on Thursday said it had launched a formal antitrust investigation into the proposed settlement over the Google Inc. project to scan millions of books into a digital format. In recent months, a number of parties have objected to the settlement, including Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, the American Library Assn. and the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that seeks to digitize public domain books and make them freely available online. Many of the objections involve concerns that Google would create a monopoly on digital books.
Continue reading...DOJ letter shows Google anti-trust probe is serious
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The U.S. Justice Department is serious about probing the Google Books settlement for possible anti-trust violations. Consumer Watchdog was one of the first organizations to ask the department to investigate.
Continue reading...Google Makes a Case That It Isn’t So Big
Monday, June 29, 2009
Eyes are rolling, especially in reaction to the idea that Google is a relatively small player in a giant market. “They describe where they are in a market under a kind of a fairy-tale spun gloss that doesn’t reflect their dominance of key sectors,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. “Google search is an absolute must-have for every marketer in the world.”
Continue reading...Google Says It Loves Competition
Thursday, June 11, 2009
With Justice Department scrutiny over the Google Books Settlement only the the leading edge of antitrust regulators’ attention to Google, the company has launched a dog-and-pony show dedicated to combating the impression that more control is needed. In a presentation (PDF) acquired by Consumer Watchdog, Google public affairs lead Adam Kovacevich argued that Google is anything but anti-competitive. Its success comes from “learning by doing,” the presentation says.
Continue reading...Google Polishes Competition Charm Offensive
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Google continued to lay the groundwork Wednesday for an antitrust defense in the event that the federal government decides to take a formal look at its core business. Inside a conference room in Google's San Francisco office, executives ran through essentially the same presentation leaked last month by the consumer activist group Consumer Watchdog, focusing most of their efforts on trying to paint a picture of Google as just one part of a large Internet ecosystem, as opposed to a dominant search giant.
Continue reading...Reports: DOJ Turns Up The Heat On Google’s Book Deal
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped up its review of a deal that would settle a lawsuit publishers and authors filed against Google over the latter's book search engine, according to published reports. Consumer Watchdog has charged that the proposed settlement gives Google special protections against lawsuits over orphan works.
Continue reading...Google Receives Federal Request For Book Settlement Info
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating Google's digital books settlement with publishers, which Google claims will make millions of volumes accessible to all but which has critics crying antitrust issues. Google's books project has run into opposition from a number of groups, including Consumer Watchdog, arguing that it gives the search engine company too much control over content with little oversight.
Continue reading...Obama Urged To Halt Google Government Takeover – Stop The Revolving Door
Friday, June 5, 2009
Two consumer watchdogs - including the aptly-named Consumer Watchdog - have urged US President Barack Obama to avoid appointing Google's director of global public policy as the country's deputy chief technology officer.
Continue reading...Google’s Former Policy Exec Faces Objections To Appointment As Deputy CTO
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Two consumer groups object to Andrew McLaughlin's potential appointment, saying it would violate President Obama's ethics guidelines. Andrew McLaughlin is slated to become the new deputy CTO, under federal CTO Aneesh Chopra, according to a New York Times report citing two unnamed sources. Google has acknowledged McLaughlin's departure, but not his destination. The White House has not yet announced plans to appoint McLaughlin. Nonetheless, the Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog on Wednesday asked President Obama in a letter not to complete the rumored pending appointment because doing so would violate the President's ethics guidelines.
Continue reading...
Friday, July 3, 2009
0 Comments