Tag Archive | "lobbying"
Obama’s Googler Draws Fire
A pair of consumer advocacy groups sent the White House a letter on Wednesday urging the administration not to appoint Google’s Andrew McLaughlin to the post, a move reported to be in works by several media outlets. McLaughlin is Google’s director of global public policy. That means he has been “responsible for Google’s worldwide lobbying efforts,” said the letter from Consumer Watchdog and Center for Digital Democracy. Obama has issued an executive order barring anyone who has worked as a lobbyist in the past two years from serving in a federal agency that they lobbied.
Continue reading...Ex-Googler’s New White House Job Rankles Some
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Andrew McLaughlin’s departure from Google to the Obama administration has prompted a little grumbling among some consumer advocates and the search giant’s corporate foes. “We do not object to Mr. McLaughlin’s appointment because he is associated with Google per se. The problem is that he has been a lobbyist for the biggest digital marketing company in the world, and we believe no special-interest connected person should assume a position of vital importance to the country’s future,” wrote John M. Simpson, founder of Consumer Watchdog, and Jeffrey Chester, founder of the Center for Digital Democracy.
Continue reading...Google’s influence grows in the W.H.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Consumer groups urged the White House on Wednesday to back off its reported pick for deputy chief technology officer because he was listed as a registered lobbyist for Google. Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy said Andrew McLaughlin, the head of Google’s global public policy, would break President Barack Obama’s executive order barring lobbyists from serving in policy areas they lobbied in the previous two years.
Continue reading...Critics Rip Obama’s Proposed Google Pick
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
As rumors swirl that President Obama plans to appoint Google's Andrew McLaughlin as White House deputy chief technology officer, consumer watchdogs bay over possible ethics violations. "Mr. McLaughlin is very good at what he does — lobbying around the world for Google’s interests," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog. "That's not what this job requires. It should not go to any person whose most recent position has been advocating policy for a technology company."
Continue reading...Obama’s Rumored Tech Pick Panned
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A pair of watchdogs on Wednesday urged the White House not halt the pending appointment of Google's top global public policy executive to the position of deputy chief technology officer under CTO Aneesh Chopra, saying it would violate the intent of President Obama's ethics rules. Although the choice of Google's Andrew McLaughlin for the position has been widely reported, it has yet to be announced.
Continue reading...Opposing Obama’s Deputy CTO Pick
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Two consumer groups have lined up to oppose President Obama's pending appointment of Google's Andrew McLaughlin as deputy chief technology officer in the White House. In a letter to Obama, John Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog (formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights), and Jeffery Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said McLaughlin's position as Google's director of global public policy violates the intent of the president's ethics rules to stop the revolving door between lobbyists and the executive branch.
Continue reading...Consumer Groups To Obama: Google Lobbyist’s Appointment To Technology Post Raises Ethics Rules Questions For White House — Appointment Should Not Go Forward
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Washington, DC -- Two consumer groups today urged the White House not to move forward with the pending appointment of Google’s top global public policy official to the position of Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the White House, saying it would violate the intent of President Obama’s ethics rules meant to end the revolving door between lobbyists and the executive branch.
Continue reading...Google’s New Scourge Strikes A Nerve
Friday, May 15, 2009
In-your-face watchdog gets advice from Microsoft 'people,' interest from Verizon SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Google Inc. has attracted a number of critics over the years, but the Internet search giant hasn't yet had to deal with any as jarringly adversarial as Consumer Watchdog. "Their tactics tend to be more confrontational than others'," said Tim Little, executive director of the Rose Foundation, an Oakland, Calif.-based organization that funds Consumer Watchdog. "But sometimes there's a place for folks being confrontational."
Continue reading...Making it easy for Google
Friday, May 8, 2009
You'd think with the communications resources that Google has at its disposal, the Internet giant's executives would be able to answer direct questions. An exchange of letters over the last few weeks shows otherwise.
Continue reading...Facing Criticism, Google Tries Buffing Its Image
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Google, having dealt with two major antitrust issues 2008 and facing the potential of more to come, has begun a program to try to spruce up its image and show that competition is alive and well. Consumer Watchdog on Friday plans to tout a Google presentation titled Google, Competition, and Openness (PDF) that the advocacy group uncovered. The company presentation (also embedded below) gives Google's views that it faces plenty of competition in a dynamic market.
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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