Perhaps the toughest shareholder question came from consumer advocate John Simpson, who asked Schmidt whether Google had agreed to a reported $700 million "kill fee" if Google's $750 million acquisition of the mobile advertising company AdMob is rejected by government antitrust regulators. Schmidt neither confirmed or denied that number, but predicted the deal would be approved by the Federal Trade Commission, which is expected to rule in coming days.
Continue reading...Thursday, April 8, 2010
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is pressing White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer Andrew McLaughlin to explain his relationship with his former employer, Google. The congressman, who serves as ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said McLaughlin’s account on Google’s new Buzz social network suggests he remains in touch with “more than two dozen individuals […]
Continue reading...Friday, April 2, 2010
Google’s Buzz has drawn two privacy lawsuits, a request for a Federal Trade Commission investigation and some pointed criticism by lawmakers. Now, information revealed by Buzz about Andrew McLaughlin, Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the Obama administration and former Google lobbyist, has spurred Consumer Watchdog — which opposed McLaughlin’s appointment — to file a Freedom […]
Continue reading...Friday, April 2, 2010
Ex-Googler Hoist By Mountain View’s Own Petard It would be hard to imagine a better Google story. If the company’s own web services somehow outed the most intimate secrets of CEO Eric Schmidt – a man who says net privacy is only for miscreants – that would surely be Google story to end all Google […]
Continue reading...Thursday, April 1, 2010
Consumer Watchdog said today it filed a Freedom of Information Act request for copies of e-mails traded between the White House’s Deputy Chief Technology Officer and Google Inc., his former employer. Andrew McLaughlin, previously the Mountain View search company’s chief policy executive, unwittingly revealed his exchanges with former colleagues when the Google Buzz service launched […]
Continue reading...Thursday, April 1, 2010
The public interest group Consumer Watchdog filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Thursday asking to see emails between President Obama’s Deputy Chief Technology Officer Andrew McLaughlin and his former employer, Google. The critique that Google is closely tied to the administration picked up some steam earlier this week thanks to an Internet privacy […]
Continue reading...Thursday, April 1, 2010
White House Internet Policy Chief Andrew McLaughlin’s “Buzz” Profile Showed Continued Ties To Internet Giant WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumer Watchdog filed a Freedom of Information Act request today with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy seeking copies of email between Internet Policy chief Andrew McLaughlin and his former employer, Google Inc. The […]
Continue reading...Monday, February 1, 2010
The tech blogosphere is buzzing with Apple CEO Steve Jobs' assessment of Google's...
Continue reading...Friday, January 15, 2010
Google's ties to the Obama administration are perhaps unrivaled in corporate America, but the Internet giant's announcement this week that it's considering pulling out of China because of Chinese censorship and hacker attacks put the White House in a tricky spot. "They like to go around and sing the mantra, 'Don't be evil,'" said John Simpson, a consumer advocate with the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog. "But they almost always act in what they perceive to be Google's interest - and that doesn't necessarily coincide with that of any government."
Continue reading...Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Google won the battle with Microsoft for the right to move Los Angeles' 30,000 municipal employees to its e-mail system, knocking out Novell's GroupWise platform for the $7.25 million contract. However, the contract comes with a caveat. Google must compensate the city if its e-mail service is breached and data is stolen. The Los Angeles Council voted to add the penalty provision 9-3. Consumer advocates applauded this motion. "Los Angeles residents cannot be sure the city's confidential or sensitive data will be secure," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog, "but at least they know there will be a penalty if security is compromised. It's essential that this project be closely watched to ensure that Google keeps its promises."
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Friday, May 14, 2010
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