Consumer Watchdog is telling the White House that its cozy relationship with Google is inappropriate, given ongoing reviews by both the FTC and the Department of Justice.
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W.H. Warned To Distance From Google
Archive | Tag: security
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Google’s Top Execs Refuse To Testify At Senate Hearing
Consumer Watchdog has been clamoring for Schmidt’s sworn testimony before Congress for over a year, ever since Germany caught Google harvesting private Wi-Fi data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks in homes and businesses across the globe. Google had dispatched fleets of specially equipped cars through city streets in 30-plus nations to gather this data.
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Google’s Dominance Draws New Scrutiny From Regulators
“They’re somewhat disingenuous when they say we’re trying to provide a neutral search and all we care about is our users,” said John Simpson at Consumer Watchdog. “What they really care about is selling their users to advertisers. That’s how they make their money.”
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Consumer Watchdog Asks White House Counsel To Rule That Administration Must Distance Itself From Google During Probes
WASHINGTON, DC — Consumer Watchdog has asked the White House Counsel to rule that President Obama and other members of the Administration must distance themselves from Google while the company is the target of serious federal investigations, including a criminal probe into allegations the search giant profited from selling online ads to illegal pharmacies.
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Critics Cheer Possible Google Antitrust Probe
The American Consumer Institute and Consumer Watchdog, a frequent Google critic, also applauded a potential antitrust probe of Google. “The time for an antitrust probe is long past due, and I’m optimistic the FTC investigation will lead to necessary remedies that will ensure competition in the market,” Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson said.
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Google: We’ll Pass on the Antitrust Hearing, But if You’ve Got a Dinner Gala Coming Up, Let Us Know
As John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project, asked, “How is it that Eric Schmidt has the time to hobnob at a gala White House State Dinner for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but cannot find time to answer important questions from a Senate committee. What are Page and Schmidt afraid of? What do they have to hide?” Good questions. Someone should subpoena them to find out the answers.
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Congress, Google Clash Over Schmidt, Page Appearance
Several groups were all in favor of the subcommittee using a subpoena. “What are Page and Schmidt afraid of? What do they have to hide? Congress should use its subpoena power to determine whether Google’s dominance of the search industry is enabling the company to monopolize the Internet,” said Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson.
Press Release
Consumer Watchdog Says Senate Panel Should Subpoena Google Executives Larry Page And Eric Schmidt
WASHINGTON, DC — The refusal of Google’s top executives, CEO Larry Page and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to testify at a hearing by the Senate’s antitrust subcommittee demonstrates a contempt for Congress and the full Senate Judiciary Committee should subpoena the two executives, Consumer Watchdog said today.
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Privacy Groups Request FTC Probe of Facebook Facial Recognition Tech
EPIC wants the FTC to require Facebook to stop using the technology pending an investigation, as well as ultimately make it opt-in.The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) joined with the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Watchdog, and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse to file a complaint with the agency, arguing that the facial-recognition software is “unfair and deceptive.”
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Privacy Groups Urge Investigation of Facebook Facial Recognition Tool
“There is every reason to believe that unless the [FTC] acts promptly, Facebook will routinely automate facial identification and eliminate any pretense of user control over the use of their own images for online identification,” Rotenberg wrote in the complaint. EPIC was joined by the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Watchdog and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.