Tag Archive | "Facebook"
Press Release
Google, Facebook Continue Pumping Money Into Lobbying Efforts Setting New Records
CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041
SANTA MONICA, CA -- Google and Facebook continued to pump money into their Washington lobbying efforts in the third quarter with the Internet giant spending its second most amount in one quarter while the social networking company spent its most ever for one quarter. “Google and Facebook would have you believe that they are different from other corporations,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project director. “They are not. They are following the corrupt corporate tradition in Washington: buying what you want.”
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Feds Wondered Who Funded Push To Probe Google
By Jim McElhatton , THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
An official with Consumer Watchdog, which has been a frequent and sharp critic of Google, said despite the speculation, the organization does not receive funding from the search engine's competitors — Microsoft, Yahoo or Facebook. "I don't know why they would have speculated about that," said John M. Simpson, privacy director for Consumer Watchdog. "They could have just called and asked."
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Consumer Watchdog Says Google’s Record Lobbying Tab Shows Astounding Cynicism
CONTACT: Jamie Court , (310) 392-0522 ext. 327; or Carmen Balber ext. 308
Monday, April 23, 2012
Internet Giant’s Expenses Soar 240 Percent, Topping $5.03 Million In 1st Quarter WASHINGTON DC -- Google continues to pump record amounts into its effort to influence federal legislators and policymakers, spending $5.03 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2012, a 240 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago, according to new disclosures filed with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Sergey Brin Pounds Fists Against Walled Gardens
By Richard Adhikari , TECHNEWSWORLD.COM
Monday, April 16, 2012
"Whenever Google raises the cry of defending Internet freedom, it's always really about what's best for Google's business model," John Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog, told TechNewsWorld.
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‘Girls Around Me’ Shows a Dark Side of Social Networks
By Cameron Scott , PCWORLD.COM
Monday, April 2, 2012
John M. Simpson, the director of Consumer Watchdog's privacy project, said even if people understand what data they're sharing on social networks, they don't expect it to be "reconfigured so they can be hit upon. Just because something is technologically possible is no justification for necessarily doing it," he said.
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Google Guns for Facebook With Third-Party Comment Platform
By Richard Adhikari , TECHNEWSWORLD.COM
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
"However Google configures this, it's clear that it's all about competing with Facebook and keeping users logged into Google's services," John Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog, told TechNewsWorld. "Google is terrified of Facebook's gains and is doing everything possible to fight them."
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White House Plan For Privacy Bill Of Rights Could Boost Protections, Consumer Watchdog Joins Groups Issuing Principles For Fair Process, Voices Some Concerns
CONTACT: John M. Simpson , 310-392-7041
Thursday, February 23, 2012
SANTA MONICA, CA – The Obama Administration's blueprint to protect online privacy with a "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" unveiled today could provide meaningful protections, Consumer Watchdog said, but warned that the test of its effectiveness will come as the implementation unfolds. The nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest group also voiced a concern that an announced Internet industry commitment to honor "Do Not Track" could be aimed at undercutting an effort by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to create a strict Do Not Track standard.
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EDITORIAL: It’s Time for Timeline — Facebook Changes Its “Profile” Page — For Everyone
By Editorial , THE REGISTER-GUARD (EUGENE, OR)
Monday, February 6, 2012
In a Jan. 24 article in USA Today, Consumer Watchdog spokesman John Simpson criticized the way Facebook is handling the switch to Timeline. Including online giant Google in his comments, he said such companies are showing “a complete disregard for their users’ interests and concerns” and taking “an uncommonly arrogant approach not usually seen in business, where the companies believe they can do whatever they want with our data, whenever and however they want to do it.”
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One Privacy Policy To Rule Them All: What Google’s Controversial New Terms of Service Could Mean To You
By Christian Blauvelt , ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY POPWATCH BLOG
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson points out that personalized advertisements targeted directly to a specific user, based on user-collected information, can be “a substantial amount” more lucrative than just an anonymous ad. And with all the information Google can collect about your interests from your searches, your Google Docs, and your favorite YouTube videos, they can figure out pretty specifically what ads they should show you. “They are positioning this as streamlining privacy,” Simpson says. “But that’s just PR. It’s all about better targeting for advertisers.”
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Facebook Critics Hope IPO Forces Some Hard Questions
By Niraj Chokshi , NATIONAL JOURNAL
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
"It's hard to predict exactly what sort of gaffe they’ll do next, but it would not surprise me if there is yet another one," said John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project, noting some concerns over Facebook’s recent expansion of its Timeline feature, which makes it easier to visualize, share, and view users’ profile history.
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Facebook’s IPO May Be the Last Straw for Privacy-Minded Users
By Erika Morphy , E-COMMERCE TIMES
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Even as a private company, Facebook had no problem pushing the envelope, Consumer Watchdog spokesperson Carmen Balber told the E-Commerce Times. "Facebook is already treading dangerous waters as far as privacy rights are concerned. The pressure to monetize consumers' user data will be greater when there are shareholders to satisfy."
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Privacy Advocates Fiercely Furrow Brows at Google
By Richard Adhikari , TECHNEWSWORLD.COM
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The announcement of the changes sparked concern among privacy watchdogs both in the United States and the European Union. "Consumers' online privacy is being eroded," growled John Simpson, a consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog.
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U.S. Firms Wary of EU’s Proposed Privacy Changes
By Juliana Gruenwald , TECHDAILYDOSE - NATIONAL JOURNAL
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
"Once Google and Facebook are following European rules, there will be no way for the companies to justify the obviously inadequate protection in the U.S.," John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a vocal Google critic, said in a statement. Google has come under fire after it said Tuesday that it plans to begin tracking users and collecting data about them as they move from one Google service to another.
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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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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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