As Google grows in size, so does its political influence. And, while this may not overly worry most people, there is one man who is keeping a close watch on the search engine firm. He is Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson, and one gets the feeling that he revels in his role of giant-killer.
Continue reading...Tuesday, July 13, 2010
It's not the first time that Google's doings in Washington have hit the headlines--but perhaps it is the first time that Google is being attacked from all sides. Its lobbying spend for the first quarter of 2010--$1.3 million [2]--was released three months ago, and set on by Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson. The non-profit, non-partisan organization has its own Inside Google website, which last week scored a hit on the firm via its data-collecting methods.
Continue reading...Saturday, July 10, 2010
In an effort to spur a Congressional investigation in the States, the consumer watchdog known as Consumer Watchdog has retraced Street View's past Washington D.C. routes and found that various members of Congress have open Wi-Fi networks whose data may have been lifted by the Google cars. The watchdog wrote a letter to Representative Jane Harman, chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment and a former ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, telling her that Google may have lifted her personal info.
Continue reading...Friday, June 25, 2010
A federal court decision this week throwing out Viacom’s’ $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube, has consumers and copyright holders wondering about its implications. (Viacom says it will appeal.)
Continue reading...Saturday, June 5, 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.
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Meanwhile, consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog on Wednesday urged state attorneys general to investigate whether the company broke wiretap, privacy and unfair business practices laws. The group also called on state authorities to demand that Google preserve all documents relating to its data-collection activities because they could be evidence in criminal or civil cases.
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Consumer Watchdog today called on the state attorneys general to investigate Google’s WiSpy snooping in their respective states to determine what state laws were broken.
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Consumer Watchdog today formally launched its new Website, Inside Google, to focus attention on the company’s activities and hold Google accountable for its actions. The sites’ URL is http://insidegoogle.com.
Continue reading...Friday, April 30, 2010
In yet another indication of the seriousness of the mounting antitrust concerns about Goolge, the Ohio Attorney General, Richard A. Cordray, has weighed in on the side of myTriggers, an internet search firm suing Google for unfair anticompetitive practices
Continue reading...Thursday, April 29, 2010
Is this how it begins? A handful of small companies crushed by a technology giant file David v. Goliath unfair competition lawsuits. A leading Silicon Valley antitrust expert lends his legal brains to the seemingly hopeless cause. Soon, a company that thinks it is all powerful and can do no wrong is forced to face up to the reality that it does not play well with others.
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Thursday, July 15, 2010
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