A consumer group is calling for a congressional investigation into allegations that Internet giant Google turned close ties to the Obama administration into corporate benefits. The group, Consumer Watchdog, alleges in a 32-page report that Google has used its connections to gain “unique access” to the government's Moffett Field located near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
Continue reading...Monday, January 24, 2011
SANTA MONICA, CA -- Consumer Watchdog today sent Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) a 32-page report detailing how Google has inappropriately, benefited from its close ties to the Obama Administration, including how NASA’s Moffett Airfield, near Google’s world headquarters, has been turned into a taxpayer-subsidized private airport for Google executives used for corporate junkets.
Continue reading...Thursday, December 23, 2010
"We're interested in the monopolistic power that Google has, how they are using it and whether it has disadvantaged consumers," said John Simpson, a director at Consumer Watchdog.
Continue reading...Saturday, December 18, 2010
That answer isn't satisfactory for privacy pundits such as Consumer Watchdog's John M. Simpson. "Google's refusal to give data gathered by its Street View cars from private WiFi networks to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal underscores the need for a Congressional hearing," Simpson said. "What is Google hiding?
Continue reading...Thursday, December 16, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC — The Commerce Department’s “Green Paper” about online privacy is an industry friendly document that would perpetuate current failed practices that give companies, not consumers, control of consumer data, Consumer Watchdog said today.
Continue reading...Monday, December 13, 2010
Privacy advocates praised the move, saying that tracking has gotten out of hand. "Consumers have a right to know what information is gathered about them, how it is used and whether it is gathered at all," says John M. Simpson, spokesman for the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog.
Continue reading...Friday, December 10, 2010
"Connecticut sounds very serious about doing something, doing something more than just a slap on the wrist," said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that has asked for congressional hearings on the issue. Blumenthal "is going to be a junior senator, but he may carry some of this with him to Washington. Who knows, he might be the guy who gets some kind of a hearing" in Congress.
Continue reading...Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Advertisers complain the Internet Explorer browser tool will hinder their ability to support free news, entertainment and other online content. Less than a week after federal regulators proposed giving web users a “do-not-track” option against online advertisers, Microsoft announced that it will add its own tracking protection mechanism in the next version of Internet Explorer […]
Continue reading...Friday, December 3, 2010
A House subcommittee held its last hearing of the 111th Congress yesterday to talk about whether legislation creating a “Do Not Track Me” mechanism is needed to protect consumers’ privacy on the internet.
Continue reading...Friday, December 3, 2010
Jamie Court, chief spokesman John Simpson, Washington coordinator Carmen Balber, and social-media strategist Josh Nuni are planning the Future of Online Consumer Protections conference, which was taking place Wednesday amid the Federal Trade Commission's release of a report that threw the government's weight behind a "Do Not Track" list for the Internet: a controversial sentiment among companies that make their money advertising on the Web. They've been handed an early Christmas present courtesy of the European Commission, which chose to announce its decision to formally investigate Google on the eve of Consumer Watchdog's conference as Simpson almost gleefully fields calls from reporters asking for reaction to the investigation.
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Monday, January 24, 2011
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