Inside Google

Is Google following Microsoft’s evil path?

John M. Simpson

Has Google taken a page from Microsoft’s evil history and started using the same anticompetitive tactics that landed the Redmond, WA., software company in antitrust trouble in the U.S. and Europe? A exclusive report in The New York Post says that’s exactly what the Federal Trade Commission is considering in its major antitrust investigation of the Internet giant.

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Consumer Watchdog Lambasts Los Angeles Over Google Apps

By Iain Thomson , THE REGISTER UK

Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court has given Los Angeles city council members an impassioned speech about the failings of its Google Apps contract, even though the meeting to discuss the issue has been moved to next week.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Asks LA Mayor, City Council To Demand Google Remove Video With City Employees Touting Google Apps; Says Apps Can Have Frightening Results

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041, or cell: 310-292-1902; or Jamie Court, 310-392-0075

SANTA MONICA, CA – Google Apps can be dangerous, Consumer Watchdog warned today and the public interest group said Los Angeles has been responsible for “giving the first imprint of credibility and acceptance to a program that has failed Los Angeles and other communities with frightening consequences.”

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Consumer Group Slams L.A. for Use, Promotion of Google Apps

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles , LOS ANGELES TIMES TECHNOLOGY BLOG

Consumer Watchdog has long been a vocal and sometimes over-the-top critic of Google and with questions rising over the implementation of Google Apps in Los Angeles’ government, the Santa Monica-based group is at it again.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Calls Google’s Explanation For Its Record $5.9 Million Lobbying Spending ‘Disingenuous Bafflegab’

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041, or cell: 310-292-1902; or Jamie Court, 310-392-0075

“The fact is the company is facing a well-deserved antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and wants to escape any consequences for its anti-competitive behavior,” said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project. “They’ve got billions in profits stashed in off-shore tax havens and are pressing for a tax-holiday to bring it into the United States.”

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LA’s Google Apps Rollout Hits the Skids

By Richard Adhikari , TECHNEWSWORLD

The City of Los Angeles’ transition to Google Apps for its 30,000 employees apparently hasn’t been going smoothly, according to letters obtained by the group Consumer Watchdog. It seems Google and contractor CSC haven’t been able to fulfill the LAPD’s security requirements, and now the city is asking for some of its money back.

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Los Angeles CTO Defends Embattled Google Apps Deal

By Matt Williams , GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

Los Angeles CTO Randi Levin said Thursday that Google Apps is “working fine” for the majority of city employees, and that the city’s desire to cancel the cloud-based e-mail suite in the Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies that handle criminal justice data is a result of technology outpacing public policy. Levin’s remarks came [...]

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Los Angeles Wants Refund for Google Apps

By Ed Oswald , BETANEWS

Google may need to act quickly to salvage its $7.25 million deal to migrate the city of Los Angeles to its Google Apps platform, following news that the delayed rollout is still not completed. The city approved the deal two years ago, but in July 2010 it was disclosed that delays had prevented full implementation.

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Google Apps Hasn’t Met LAPD’s Security Requirements, City Demands Refund

By Jon Brodkin , ARS TECHNICA.COM

Two years after the City of Los Angeles approved a $7.25 million deal to move its e-mail and productivity infrastructure to Google Apps, the migration has still not been completed because the Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies are unsatisfied with Google’s security related to the handling of criminal history data.

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Google Suffers Cloud Setback in L.A.

By David Saleh Rauf , POLITICO PRO

Los Angeles is delaying until 2012 the migration of email to Google’s cloud computing suite for thousands of law enforcement officials because the system doesn’t currently meet security requirements — a blow for the tech titan as it battles rivals for government cloud supremacy.

Blog Post

Google faces IRS scrutiny for avoiding taxes

Posted by John M. Simpson

Remember the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich?” Those are the nicknames for the schemes that Google uses to dodge about $1 billion a year in U.S. taxes by running profits through offshore subsidiaries and stashing the cash in tax havens like Bermuda. Bloomberg Reporter Jesse Drucker originally revealed a year ago how the dubious [...]

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Privacy Groups Hoping Study Prompts Action

By Juliana Gruenwald , NATIONAL JOURNAL

“This study proves that personally identifiable information is regularly shared without consumers’ knowledge,” Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson told a forum on Tuesday. “We can’t rely on industry promises to protect consumer privacy; clearly, we need do-not-track legislation, and we need it now.”

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Calls Online Industry’s Claims of Privacy Protection Bogus After New Study From Stanford Finds Websites Frequently Share Personal Information

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-292-1902; and Carmen Balber, 202-629-3043

WASHINGTON, DC – Consumer Watchdog called online industry claims that consumers’ personal privacy is protected when they surf the Web to be meaningless in light of a study released today by Stanford University’s Computer Security Laboratory. The research was released at a forum discussing digital data collection sponsored by a coalition of 10 consumer, privacy and civil rights groups. Consumer Watchdog called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether identified companies violated their privacy obligations to consumers.