WASHINGTON, DC – Google and Facebook continued pumping record amounts of money into their lobbying efforts during the second quarter to influence federal lawmakers and regulators, according to lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Continue reading...Sunday, July 1, 2012
What do autonomous cars driven by robots like those Google is developing have to do with your privacy? If the answer is nothing, then why won't Google and the author of a bill to allow them on California highways accept an amendment requiring that the new technology collect only data necessary for the operation of the vehicle and no other purpose?
Continue reading...Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Online advertisers and privacy advocates generally agree that Do Not Track options should be available on Web browsers. However, there's much debate about whether DNT should be opt-in or opt-out. "The privacy-friendly thing is to have DNT on by default," said Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson. But advertisers say turning on DNT by default would essentially deprive consumers of choice.
Continue reading...Monday, June 25, 2012
Consumer Watchdog says Google is going to go willy-nilly with data collection for autonomous vehicles, and the California bill shouldn’t get the green light without more restrictions. Internet companies do whatever they want and it needs to stop, a consumer group said in an argument calling for more privacy protection in robotic cars. Consumer Watchdog […]
Continue reading...Monday, June 25, 2012
Consumer Watchdog, which has long dogged Google on its data gathering practices, asked the committee to include language restricting the operators of the robotic cars to only gathering data that is necessary to run the car. The bill's analysis said it was difficult to define what data is necessary to run the car, but called for companies to disclose all information gathered.
Continue reading...Monday, June 25, 2012
SACRAMENTO, CA – Google’s driverless cars should not be allowed on our highways unless strong privacy protections for users of the new technology are implemented, Consumer Watchdog told the California Assembly’s Transportation Committee today.
Continue reading...Thursday, June 21, 2012
Group Plans To Ask Google Executives What They Knew About Wi-Spy MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – Consumer Watchdog today sent its “Google Track Team” comprised of mimes dressed in white track suits to follow shareholders as they gathered for the company’s annual meeting in a bid to focus attention on the Internet giant’s online tracking activity.
Continue reading...Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Washington, DC – In an opinion piece published in POLITICO today, Consumer Watchdog's Jamie Court and John M. Simpson compare the treatment of News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch – who was called before Parliament in Britain to answer for hacking into the private phone records of families – and the kid glove treatment Google CEO Larry Page has received in America after a much larger privacy breach in which the new media giant collected personal information from millions of Wi-Fi networks around the world.
Continue reading...Friday, June 1, 2012
The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog is raising concerns about Google’s altruistic motives when it comes to autonomous vehicles. The group sees The Big G’s efforts less as a way to reduce crashes and save lives, and more as a ploy to mine and monetize even more personal data. And it wants to block a bill that would clear the way for Google’s self-driving cars to legally cruise California roads unless privacy protections are in place.
Continue reading...Friday, June 1, 2012
Nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog has published an open letter to state assembly speaker John Perez seeking amendments to SB 1298, which would allow Google to legally operate its self-driving cars on California roadways.
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Monday, July 23, 2012
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