“We’re interested in the monopolistic power that Google has, how they are using it and whether it has disadvantaged consumers,” said John Simpson, a director at Consumer Watchdog.
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When Analysts Look Over Their Shoulders
Archive | Tag: litigation
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Google Denies Connecticut AG Street View Data
That answer isn’t satisfactory for privacy pundits such as Consumer Watchdog’s John M. Simpson. “Google’s refusal to give data gathered by its Street View cars from private WiFi networks to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal underscores the need for a Congressional hearing,” Simpson said. “What is Google hiding?
Press Release
Commerce Department Privacy Report Leaves Consumers In The Cold, Recommendations Favor Current Industry Practices, Consumer Watchdog Says
WASHINGTON, DC — The Commerce Department’s “Green Paper” about online privacy is an industry friendly document that would perpetuate current failed practices that give companies, not consumers, control of consumer data, Consumer Watchdog said today.
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Do Not Track Could Revolutionize Online Ad Industry
Privacy advocates praised the move, saying that tracking has gotten out of hand. “Consumers have a right to know what information is gathered about them, how it is used and whether it is gathered at all,” says John M. Simpson, spokesman for the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog.
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Connecticut Attorney General Demands Google’s Street View Data
“Connecticut sounds very serious about doing something, doing something more than just a slap on the wrist,” said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that has asked for congressional hearings on the issue. Blumenthal “is going to be a junior senator, but he may carry some of this with him to Washington. Who knows, he might be the guy who gets some kind of a hearing” in Congress.
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Microsoft To Add Tracking Protection To IE9
Advertisers complain the Internet Explorer browser tool will hinder their ability to support free news, entertainment and other online content. Less than a week after federal regulators proposed giving web users a “do-not-track” option against…
Blog Post
Will Congress let consumers say no to online tracking?
A House subcommittee held its last hearing of the 111th Congress yesterday to talk about whether legislation creating a “Do Not Track Me” mechanism is needed to protect consumers’ privacy on the internet.
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An Inside Look at Google’s Loudest Critic
Jamie Court, chief spokesman John Simpson, Washington coordinator Carmen Balber, and social-media strategist Josh Nuni are planning the Future of Online Consumer Protections conference, which was taking place Wednesday amid the Federal Trade Commission’s release of a report that threw the government’s weight behind a “Do Not Track” list for the Internet: a controversial sentiment among companies that make their money advertising on the Web. They’ve been handed an early Christmas present courtesy of the European Commission, which chose to announce its decision to formally investigate Google on the eve of Consumer Watchdog’s conference as Simpson almost gleefully fields calls from reporters asking for reaction to the investigation.
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Facebook, Google Behavioral Ads Will Survive FTC’s Proposed “Do Not Call” Registry for the Web
At a Consumer Watchdog event Wednesday, the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection proposed a new “Do Not Track” tool to curb privacy concerns over behaviorial advertising. The tool would be akin to the “Do Not Call” registry created in the early aughts which enabled the public to block the surging (and annoying) amount of telemarketers, Politico reports [1]. “Do Not Track” would work within browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox, but would require an act of Congress to pass.
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FTC Official Says Agency Is Monitoring Google’s Practices
“You may well see something soon from the U.S. agencies, but I can’t promise anything,” said Melanie Sabo, Assistant Director for Anticompetitive Practices at the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. Speaking at a Consumer Watchdog conference called “The Future of Online Consumer Protection,” Sabo said her comments reflect her own views and not those of the FTC. The conference, held in Washington, D.C., was webcast over the Internet.