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WASHINGTON – As watchdog groups urge a slowdown in Google’s new privacy policy, Rep. Mary Bono Mack’s office announced Tuesday a hearing on privacy issues March 29 in which Google will likely participate.
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Five consumer and privacy groups today joined in sending a letter to the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade calling for public hearings on Google planned privacy changes, rather than a secret briefing.
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“The real question is how much influence companies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook will have in their inevitable attempt to water down the rules that are implemented and render them essentially meaningless. I am skeptical about the ‘multi-stakeholder process’, but am willing to make a good faith effort to try,” John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog said in a statement.
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A coalition of 11 consumer advocacy agencies and civil liberty and privacy organizations has responded by releasing a set of principles for the multi-stakeholder process. This “would ensure a fair process,” John Simpson, consumer advocate at coalition member Consumer Watchdog, told TechNewsWorld.
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“The only problem with this, is that the W3C has yet to agree what ‘Do Not Track’ technical standards and compliance obligations will be,” John Simpson, director of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog said in a statement. “If the W3C standards are stricter than industry wants, I can’t believe they will follow them. I hope not, but this may actually be an effort to undermine the W3C process.”
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“The real question is how much influence companies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook will have in their inevitable attempt to water down the rules that are implemented and render them essentially meaningless,” says John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog. ” I am skeptical about the ‘multi-stakeholder process’, but am willing to make a good faith effort to try it.
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“The real question is how much influence companies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook will have in their inevitable attempt to water down the rules that are implemented and render them essentially meaningless,” John M. Simpson, privacy project director for Consumer Watchdog, said in response to the administration’s plan. “A concern is that the administration’s privacy effort is being run out of the Commerce Department.”
Press Release
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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SANTA MONICA, CA – California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ agreement announced today committing the leading operators of mobile application platforms to require privacy policies for applications (“apps”) is a step forward, Consumer Watchdog said, but in addition “Do Not Track” regulations must be implemented to fully protect consumers.
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The complaint — similar to complaints brought by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the World Privacy Forum and Consumer Watchdog — alleges that Google is misleading users about the “real reasons” for the privacy policy change, which are due to take effect March 1. In addition, the planned policy changes violate the FTC-Google consent decree by failing to get user consent before sharing information.
