Inside Google

Press Release

Justice Is Probing Google’s Book Deal

CONTACT: Alex Pham

The Justice Department on Thursday said it had launched a formal antitrust investigation into the proposed settlement over the Google Inc. project to scan millions of books into a digital format. In recent months, a number of parties have objected to the settlement, including Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, the American Library Assn. and the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that seeks to digitize public domain books and make them freely available online. Many of the objections involve concerns that Google would create a monopoly on digital books.

Press Release

DOJ Officially Opens Investigation Into Google Book Search

CONTACT: Nancy Gohring

The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed on Thursday that it is
investigating a settlement involving Google Book Search for possible
antitrust violations, following months of speculation that the agency
had its eye on the service. Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit group,
argues that the proposal gives Google special protections against
lawsuits over the orphan works. Those special protections would
discourage potential Google competitors from entering the digital book
business unless they could negotiate a similar protection, the group
argues. Consumer Watchdog has urged the DOJ to examine the settlement.

Press Release

Google Makes a Case That It Isn’t So Big

CONTACT: Miguel Helft

Eyes are rolling, especially in reaction to the idea that Google is a
relatively small player in a giant market. “They describe where they
are in a market under a kind of a fairy-tale spun gloss that doesn’t
reflect their dominance of key sectors,” said Jeff Chester, executive
director of the Center for Digital Democracy. “Google search is an
absolute must-have for every marketer in the world.”

Consumer Watchdog Praises Google For Considering New E-mail Security But Asks Why It Took Internet Giant So Long To Act To Protect Users

John M. Simpson

Santa Monica, CA — Google should be praised for agreeing to offer
improved security for users of its online services like Gmail, Consumer
Watchdog said today, but the non-partisan, non-profit consumer group
asked why the the company waited so long to act.

Press Release

Google Says It Loves Competition

CONTACT: Richard Koman

With Justice Department scrutiny over the Google Books Settlement
only the the leading edge of antitrust regulators’ attention to Google,
the company has launched a dog-and-pony show dedicated to combating the
impression that more control is needed. In a presentation (PDF)
acquired by Consumer Watchdog, Google public affairs lead Adam
Kovacevich argued that Google is anything but anti-competitive. Its
success comes from “learning by doing,” the presentation says.

Press Release

Google Polishes Competition Charm Offensive

CONTACT: Tom Krazit

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Google continued to lay the groundwork Wednesday for
an antitrust defense in the event that the federal government decides
to take a formal look at its core business.
Inside a conference room in Google’s San Francisco office,
executives ran through essentially the same presentation leaked last
month by the consumer activist group Consumer Watchdog,
focusing most of their efforts on trying to paint a picture of Google
as just one part of a large Internet ecosystem, as opposed to a
dominant search giant.

Press Release

Reports: DOJ Turns Up The Heat On Google’s Book Deal

CONTACT: Juan Carlos Perez

The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped up its review of a deal that would settle a lawsuit publishers and authors filed against Google over the latter’s book search engine, according to published reports. Consumer Watchdog has charged that the proposed settlement gives Google special protections against lawsuits over orphan works.

Press Release

Google Receives Federal Request For Book Settlement Info

CONTACT: Staff Writers

The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating Google’s
digital books settlement with publishers, which Google claims will make
millions of volumes accessible to all but which has critics crying
antitrust issues. Google’s books project has run into opposition from a
number of groups, including Consumer Watchdog, arguing that it gives the search engine company too
much control over content with little oversight.

Growing White House Ties To Google Draw Protest

Patrick Thibodeau

Consumer Groups Object To Expected Selection Of Google Exec To Deputy CTO Post

Andrew McLaughlin, Google’s director of global public policy, is
expected to be appointed U.S. deputy chief technology officer,
reporting to federal CTO Aneesh Chopra. Both are new White House positions. Two groups, the Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog,
yesterday urged Obama not to appoint McLaughlin to the post. In a
letter signed by Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for
Digital Democracy and and John Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer
Watchdog, the groups said that McLaughlin "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."

Ex-Googler’s New White House Job Rankles Some

Amy Schatz

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.