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...Monday, January 31, 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...Monday, January 31, 2011
SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today called on Google to end the secrecy surrounding its lobbying efforts in Washington after the Internet giant refused to release an 89-page presentation it is showing to policymakers and regulators in the nation’s capital. The call came as the Internet giant’s lobbying spending soared to $5.2 million in 2010 from $4.03 million in 2009.
Continue reading...Sunday, January 30, 2011
Frequent Google critic Consumer Watchdog blasted the announcement and repeated its call for outgoing Google CEO Eric Schmidt to explain the incident to lawmakers. “The details of the biggest privacy breach in history shouldn’t be settled in secret,” said John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Inside Google Project. “This makes it clear why Google CEO Eric Schmidt needs to testify under oath before Congress about Wi-Spy.”
Continue reading...Saturday, January 29, 2011
Consumer Watchdog decried today's agreement between Google and the state. "The details of the biggest privacy breach in history shouldn’t be settled in secret,” said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Inside Google Project. “This makes it clear why Google CEO Eric Schmidt needs to testify under oath before Congress about Wi-Spy.”
Continue reading...Friday, January 28, 2011
SANTA MONICA, CA — Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen’s deal with Google announced today makes it clear that Congressional hearings will be necessary if the American public is to understand fully what happened in the Wi-Spy scandal, Consumer Watchdog said.
Continue reading...Thursday, January 27, 2011
A consumer advocacy group has hired a van to drive around the streets of Washington D.C. playing an animated cartoon lampooning Google's outgoing CEO Eric Schmidt for previous statements he's made concerning Internet privacy.
Continue reading...Thursday, January 27, 2011
Consumer Watchdog receives no funding from Microsoft or any other competitor of Google, John Simpson, consumer advocate with the group, told PC World. “We don't have any relationship with Microsoft at all … We don't take any of their money,” he said. Simpson said the group has decided to focus on Google’s privacy practices because the company’s services serve as a gateway to the Internet for many people. If the group can push Google, “without a doubt the dominant Internet company,” to change its privacy practices, other companies will follow suit, he said.
Continue reading...Wednesday, January 26, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC – Consumer Watchdog’s new animated satire, “Mr. Schmidt Goes to Washington,” debuted today on the streets of Washington, DC, to make the case for why Congress should call Google CEO Eric Schmidt to testify under oath about the Wi-Spy scandal and other online privacy issues. The group also said the company’s close relationship with the US government should be probed.
Continue reading...Monday, January 24, 2011
A consumer advocacy group is calling for a congressional investigation into what it says is Google's "cozy relationship" with the federal government, specifically, the Obama administration. At issue is Google's use of Moffett Field, owned and operated by NASA, which is just a few miles away from Google headquarters in Mountain View.
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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