Inside Google

Press Release

Google Continues To Buy Its Way Out Of Privacy Problems, Consumer Watchdog Says

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

SANTA MONICA, CA. – Google’s $17 million settlement with states attorneys general demonstrates the Internet giant’s business strategy of doing whatever it wants and then buying its way out of trouble when caught breaking the rules, Consumer Watchdog said today.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Backs Do Not Track Kids Bill; Says All Ages Deserve Protection

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog has endorsed the bipartisan, bicameral Do Not Track Kids bill introduced in Congress today, but added that all users of the Internet should be entitled to protection by a Do Not Track law.

Press Release

Google’s European Antitrust Settlement Proposal Insufficient, Consumer Watchdog Says As Group Releases Google’s Latest Offer and Questions From European Commission

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

SANTA MONICA, CA – Google’s latest proposal to settle a European antitrust investigation does nothing to solve the underlying problem of how the Internet giant manipulates results and favors its own services in search, Consumer Watchdog said today as it released the proposal and questions the European Commission is asking about it.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Challenges Google to Make EU Antitrust Settlement Offer Public; U.S. Public Interest Group Says It Will Release Latest Proposal If Internet Giant Won’t

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog has challenged Google to make public its latest proposal to settle the European Commission’s antitrust investigation by 5 p.m. Wednesday, or the public interest group said it would release the proposed deal itself.

Press Release

Google Leads Tech Firms in Lobbying Expenses; Facebook Spending Up 47 Percent

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

WASHINGTON, DC — Google continued to lead tech firms in lobbying expenses during the third quarter, spending $3.4 million on its effort to buy influence with federal legislators and policymakers, according to disclosure forms just filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Press Release

23 US Public Interest Groups Back European Union Data Protection Regulation

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , Consumer Watchdog, 310-392-7041; and Jeff Chester, Center For Digital Democracy, 202-986-2220

WASHINGTON – A coalition of 23 US consumer, privacy and public interest groups today wrote the European Parliament expressing strong support for the proposed European Data Protection Regulation because “we believe that the promotion of stronger privacy standards in Europe will benefit consumers around the globe.”

Press Release

Five Public Interest Groups Underscore Opposition To Settlement In Google Privacy Suit

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and three other public interest groups today in re-iterating their opposition to a proposed $8.5 million settlement in a class action suit against Google for privacy violations in the way it handled users’ search data because proposed recipients of settlement funds don’t represent the interests of the class.

Press Release

Gmail Judge Holds Internet Accountable To Wiretap Laws In Key Consumer Victory

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

SANTA MONICA, CA — In a seminal decision for online privacy, a federal judge in San Jose, CA., today rejected Google’s claims that wiretapping laws do not apply to its Gmail business and that consumers who email people with Gmail accounts have no legitimate expectation of privacy.

Press Release

Investigation Reveals Google Executives Dodged Taxes On Planes Based At Moffett Field In Sweetheart Deal

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

Consumer Watchdog Says U.S. Attorney Should Launch Probe
SANTA MONICA, CA — Google’s top executives avoided paying millions of dollars in local property taxes on their fleet of aircraft based at NASA’s Moffett Field, as well as bought government fuel substantially below market price, a new investigative report shows. Consumer Watchdog today said the U.S. Attorney should investigate.

Press Release

Pentagon Ends Sweetheart Fuel Deal For Google Execs’ Aircraft At Moffett Highlighted By Consumer Watchdog Two Years Ago

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

Group Calls For Eviction and Legal Probe

SANTA MONICA – The Pentagon has ended a deal described two years ago by Consumer Watchdog that allowed a company owned by top Google executives to buy jet fuel for a fleet of aircraft based at Moffett Field. The public interest group said today the aircraft should be evicted from the facility and an investigation opened to see if laws were broken.

Press Release

U.S. Appeals Court Rules Google Not Exempt From Wiretap Law In Wi-Spy Suit

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

Billions of Dollars At Stake For Google’s Collection Of Data With Street View Cars

SANTA MONICA, CA – A federal appeals court ruled today that Google’s interception of messages from private Wi-Fi networks is not exempt from federal wiretap laws, opening the way for a class action suit in the Wi-Spy case to move forward with possible damages amounting to billions of dollars.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Urges European Commission To Charge Google In Antitrust Probe

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

Latest Settlement Proposal from Internet Giant Is “An Attempt To Obfuscate And Delay”

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today called on the European Commission to file a formal Statement of Objections against Google in the nearly three-year-old antitrust investigation of the Internet giant and said Google’s latest settlement offer was an attempt to stall the investigation.

Press Release

Privacy Groups Urge FTC To Block Pending Facebook Privacy Changes

CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041

WASHINGTON, DC – A coalition of six consumer privacy groups is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to enforce an earlier consent order with Facebook and block proposed changes in the social network’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and its Data Use Policy because the proposed changes violate the 2011 settlement with the Commission.