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Q4 2011 Lobbying Report Shows Google Spending Skyrocketed
Consumer Watchdog condemned the increased lobbying by web services. Google “has abandoned its idealistic ‘Don’t Be Evil’ roots and has bought into Washington’s corrupt ‘cash and carry’ political system,” the consumer group said. “Facebook, relatively new to the Washington lobbying scene, now appears headed down the same morally bankrupt path as Google,” Consumer Watchdog said. Facebook declined to respond. Google didn’t answer a request for comment.
Continue reading...Google Has Long Had Ability To Track You Across Its Services
24. January 2012
“What these unilateral decisions by Google and Facebook demonstrate is a complete disregard for their users’ interests and concerns,” says John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog. “It’s an uncommonly arrogant approach not usually seen in business, where these companies believe they can do whatever they want with our data, whenever and however they want to do it.”
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Asks EU to Block Google, Motorola Deal
23. January 2012
A consumer group on Wednesday penned a letter to European regulators asking them to block the pending merger of Google and Motorola Mobility on anticompetitive grounds.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Urges EU to Block Google’s Motorola Deal
23. January 2012
A U.S. consumer advocacy group has written to the European Commission asking it to block Google’s deal to acquire Motorola and to launch an investigation into the Internet giant’s alleged anti-competitive behavior.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog During Brussels Visit Urges European Commission To Block Google’s Motorola Deal And File Formal Antitrust Complaint
23. January 2012
BRUSSELS – Consumer Watchdog, a U.S.-based consumer advocacy group, today called for the EU’s antitrust regulators to block Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility and ultimately issue a formal antitrust complaint against the Internet giant’s ongoing business practices.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Says Google’s Lobbying Expenses Show Firm Has Adopted ‘Cash and Carry’ Approach to Politics; Spending Soars 87 Percent
23. January 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – Internet giant Google spent nearly $10 million lobbying federal policymakers in 2012, showing that the company has abandoned its idealistic “Don’t Be Evil” roots and has bought into Washington’s corrupt “cash and carry” political system, Consumer Watchdog said today.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Calls For President Obama to Endorse Do Not Track and Online Privacy Legislation During State of the Union Message
20. January 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – Consumer Watchdog today called on President Obama to use the State of the Union message to endorse baseline privacy legislation and support Do Not Track regulations that would give consumers control of whether their information is gathered while they use the Internet.
Continue reading...Los Angeles Axes Plans to Add Police Email to Google Cloud
16. December 2011
The issues surrounding the Google Apps deal with Los Angeles came to a head in October, when Santa Monica, Calif.-based Consumer Watchdog released on its website a letter from Los Angeles CTO Randi Levin to systems integrator CSC that formally requested that CSC refund to Los Angeles money spent on seat licenses and migration costs associated with moving its law enforcement and criminal justice personnel to Google’s cloud product.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Says Los Angeles Must Demand Removal of Deceptive Video After City Council Kills Plan for Police to Use Google’s Cloud-based Email
15. December 2011
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today called on Los Angeles officials to demand Google remove a deceptive video featuring Los Angeles City employees from a website marketing the Internet giant’s Google Apps for Government “cloud computing” service.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Warns Chicago Public Schools Of Google’s Los Angeles Failures As Nation’s Third Largest School District Considers Massive New Email System
6. December 2011
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today warned the Chicago Board of Education to consider Google’s failures in implementing an email system for the City of Los Angeles as the seven members consider a new email and collaboration system for the nation’s third largest school district.
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24. January 2012