Inside Google

Consumer Watchdog Calls On Senators To Skip Fundraiser Set For Google Headquarters

John M. Simpson

Public Policy Should Be Decided In Hearing Room With Sunlight And Transparency, Group Says SANTA MONICA, CA -- Warning that a Democratic Senate Campaign Committee Fundraiser scheduled to be held at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA, on Friday created an appearance of a conflict of interest, Consumer Watchdog  called on the seven Senators scheduled to appear not to attend.

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Now’s Your Chance To Spy On Google

Bob Sullivan

The Google Dashboard tool is also limited to information gathered on users when logged in to Google.  It doesn’t give consumers access to information that might be tied to individual consumers in other ways -- such as searches associated with individual computer IP address or cookies. That means it falls short of being a true privacy tool, according to privacy rights advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. "The dashboard gives the appearance of control without the actual ability to prevent Google from tracking you and delivering you to its marketers,” said John M. Simpson, a spokesman for the nonprofit organization. "It doesn't reveal anything about what is at the heart of what I call Google's 'black box' -- what is associated with your computer's IP address."  

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Google Dashboard Provides Too Much Info And Yet Not Enough

Clint Boulton

Indeed, privacy advocates, such as John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, argued Google's gesture with Dashboard was just a straw man and that if the company really wanted to help it would allow users to prevent search information from being logged or to prevent Google from tracking a user's online activity while surfing the Web.

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Poking At Google’s New Privacy Dashboard

Brian Krebs

... Dashboard doesn't really give users any clearer insights into what the company is doing with all of the data it collects. John Simpson, a consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog, said if Google really wants people to use Dashboard, the company should make it easier to find, noting that there are few links to the tool from the landing pages of any Google properties. Simpson said Google also should make it easier for users to blow away stored search and activity data across multiple Google properties with a single click. "Google is maximizing the PR value of this feature in response to critics who have demanded online privacy guarantees," Simpson said in a written statement. "They are letting a little light shine into the black box that is Google, but to claim that this is transparency is absurd."

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Google Releases Dashboard Privacy Tool

Doug Gross

The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, which has been critical of the amount of personal data Google stores, called the dashboard a small step in the right direction. "If Google really wanted to give users control over their privacy it would give consumers the ability to be anonymous from the company and its advertisers in crucial areas such as search data and online behavior," spokesman John M. Simpson said on the group's Web site. "The Dashboard give the appearance of control without the actual ability to prevent Google from tracking you and delivering you to its marketers."

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Dashboard Shows What Google Knows About You

Sharon Gaudin