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Blog Post
Is Google adding a default security setting?
Posted by John M. Simpson
One of the dangers of using public Wi-Fi networks at coffee shops and the like is that anybody else on the network can read your email, Facebook postings, search requests and easily hack into your account unless the data is encrypted. The most common is SSL encryption using the HTTPS protocol. If you use it, [...]
Blog Post
Should you believe what Eric Schmidt says or what Google does?
Posted by John M. Simpson
25. July 2011
Actions speak louder than words. That’s why I’m not putting much stock in what Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt says anymore.
Blog Post
Google’s Do Not Track answer doesn’t track
Posted by John M. Simpson
3. June 2011
If you follow a company closely, like I follow Google, there is no better place to remind its executives of your continued interest than the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting. It keeps them on their toes. I own a couple of shares of Google stock, so I headed up to Mountain View Thursday to attend the [...]
Blog Post
Google claims it doesn’t understand what Do Not Track means
Posted by John M. Simpson
23. May 2011
I’ve just seen what has to be the lamest excuse ever to come out of the Googleplex. Apparently Google hasn’t implemented a Do Not Track mechanism on its Chrome browser, because, according to one of the Internet Giant’s top privacy lawyers, Keith Enright, the geeks in Mountain View “need more granularity and a more reasonable [...]
Blog Post
Senate “tussle” is good for privacy
Posted by John M. Simpson
19. May 2011
There can’t be anything better than having legislators compete to answer popular demand for better privacy protection. Hauling tech executives in and asking them to explain themselves never hurts. Twice in two weeks is even better.
Blog Post
Sen. Blumenthal demands answers on Wi-Fi privacy
Posted by John M. Simpson
18. May 2011
The forty-state probe by attorneys general slowed after then Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was elected to the U.S. Senate, but he clearly hasn’t dropped his concerns. In a letter this week to the chief executives of Microsoft, Google, Apple, Research in Motion, Skyhook Wireless and Nokia, Blumenthal writes that widespread use of smartphones “raises [...]
Blog Post
New book explains why you can’t trust Google
Posted by John M. Simpson
8. May 2011
Nobody can doubt the pervasive influence Google has in our daily lives. For most people the Internet giant has become the primary gateway to the Web. No doubt many of its services are useful, but what is the real impact of a company whose audacious mission is ” to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful?” Scott Cleland has been doing some serious thinking about Google. His book, “Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc,” is the result.
Blog Post
France Fines Google Over Wi-Spy
Posted by John M. Simpson
21. March 2011
France’s privacy watchdog has just fined Google 100,000 euros ($142,000) as a result of the Internet giant’s Wi-Spy activities. It may not be a lot to a company whose worldwide annual sales are around $25 billion a year, but it’s the biggest fine the regulator has issued.
Blog Post
Cause For Concern About Washington’s Privacy Drive
Posted by John M. Simpson
16. March 2011
The Obama Administration threw its weight behind privacy legislation Wednesday as Assistant Commerce Secretary Lawrence Strickling testified before the Senate Commerce Committee about online privacy. Clearly Washington is focusing on privacy issues, but will meaningful consumer protections be enacted? There is cause for concern.
Blog Post
Congressmen Quickly Agree To Our Call For Google Hearings
Posted by John M. Simpson
24. February 2011
Concerned with the way Google was gathering social security numbers from children in connection with its “Doodle 4 Google” contest, I wrote to Reps. Ed Markey, D-MA, and Joe Barton, R-TX, calling for hearings in to the incident as well as a look at the Google Wi-Spy scandal. I sent the letter via email around noon today and later this afternoon in a joint statement the co-chairmen of the House Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus agreed to schedule a hearing.
Blog Post
‘Dilbert’ Focuses On Online Privacy
Posted by John M. Simpson
15. February 2011
When an issue becomes the topic of a comic strip, you know it’s on the nation’s agenda. Online privacy crossed that threshold today in Scott Adams’ Dilbert.
Blog Post
Busy Time Ahead For Online Privacy
Posted by John M. Simpson
3. February 2011
Next week will be a busy one in Washington for online privacy as at least two bills are expected to be introduced in the House. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-CA, plans to offer a Do Not Track legislation and Rep. Bobby Rush, D- Il, is expected to re-introduce his online privacy bill. There’s activity outside Congress as well.
Blog Post
Google’s Search “Sting” Is Hypocritical
Posted by John M. Simpson
2. February 2011
Google is blasting rival Microsoft for copying its search engine results for use on Microsoft’s search service, Bing. Microsoft claims they did nothing wrong and that Google engaged in “a spy-novelesque stunt.”
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Consumer Watchdog’s Carmen Balber discusses Internet privacy and the need for an online “Do Not Track Me” list.
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9. August 2011
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