Inside Google

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Obama’s Googler Draws Fire

By Alexei Oreskovic REUTERS MEDIAFILE

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.

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News Clipping

Ex-Googler’s New White House Job Rankles Some

By Amy Schatz WALL STREET JOURNAL DIGITS BLOG

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.

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News Clipping

Google’s influence grows in the W.H.

By Chris Frates POLITICO

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.

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News Clipping

Google’s Former Policy Exec Faces Objections To Appointment As Deputy CTO

By Thomas Claburn INFORMATIONWEEK

Two consumer groups object to Andrew McLaughlin’s potential appointment, saying it would violate President Obama’s ethics guidelines.

Andrew McLaughlin is slated to become the new deputy CTO, under federal
CTO Aneesh Chopra, according to a New York Times report citing two
unnamed sources. Google has acknowledged McLaughlin’s departure, but not his
destination. The White House has not yet announced plans to appoint
McLaughlin. Nonetheless, the Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog on
Wednesday asked President Obama in a letter not to complete the rumored
pending appointment because doing so would violate the President’s
ethics guidelines.

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News Clipping

Critics Rip Obama’s Proposed Google Pick

By Roy Mark EWEEK.com

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."

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News Clipping

Obama’s Rumored Tech Pick Panned

By Andrew Noyes TECH DAILY DOSE - NATIONAL JOURNAL

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.

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News Clipping

Opposing Obama’s Deputy CTO Pick

By Allan Holmes NEXTGOV TECH INSIDER

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.

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Press Release

Consumer Groups To Obama: Google Lobbyist’s Appointment To Technology Post Raises Ethics Rules Questions For White House — Appointment Should Not Go Forward

CONTACT: John M. Simpson 310-392-0522 ext. 317 or cell 310-292-1902

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.

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