The Consumer Watchdog advocacy group today asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Google violated a previous privacy agreement with the FTC by tracking cookies in a way that circumvents default privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser.
Continue reading...Friday, February 17, 2012
Google's alleged circumvention of do-not-track controls on Apple's Safari browser could lead to big fines from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission if the agency. Consumer Watchdog, a privacy advocate that has been critical of Google, called on the FTC to investigate the company for unfair and deceptive business practices.
Continue reading...Friday, February 17, 2012
Consumer Watchdog Says Internet Giant Lied To Users, Calls For FTC Action SANTA MONICA, CA – In the wake of a Stanford University researcher’s study that found Google has been violating people’s online privacy choices, Consumer Watchdog said today the Internet giant was lying to users and called for the Federal Trade Commission to act. iPhone and iPad users were targeted.
Continue reading...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.”
Continue reading...Thursday, October 27, 2011
Has Google taken a page from Microsoft's evil history and started using the same anticompetitive tactics that landed the Redmond, WA., software company in antitrust trouble in the U.S. and Europe? A exclusive report in The New York Post says that's exactly what the Federal Trade Commission is considering in its major antitrust investigation of the Internet giant.
Continue reading...Tuesday, October 11, 2011
“This study proves that personally identifiable information is regularly shared without consumers’ knowledge,” Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson told a forum on Tuesday. “We can’t rely on industry promises to protect consumer privacy; clearly, we need do-not-track legislation, and we need it now.”
Continue reading...Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Washington, DC – Consumer Watchdog today took Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to task today over remarks made to The Washington Post in which he claimed Google should not be the subject of antitrust review because its services are "free" and made derogatory remarks about government officials being slow, backward and greedy.
Continue reading...Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Consumer Watchdog says that privacy and Google's ability to pry into the lives of anyone is a growing concern among the public. Colleague Jay Greene wrote that this week the group's primary concern is that Google is gathering a huge trove of personal information, much of it without consumers' knowledge and consumers are powerless to stop it.
Continue reading...Wednesday, September 21, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC – Consumer Watchdog today told a Senate committee that Google’s reach is so pervasive on the Internet that consumers cannot avoid its massive data collection apparatus. The public interest group said one possible remedy is breaking up the Internet giant, which exercises monopoly power over search and consumer data. Do Not Track regulations are necessary to protect consumers from the Internet giant’s pervasive data collection.
Continue reading...Monday, May 23, 2011
“The message for mobile companies is that they’ve got to get up-to-speed with privacy best practices and act responsibly,” said John M. Simpson, Washington-based director of nonprofit Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project. “If they don’t, there is going to be really strong regulation really quickly,” he said.
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Friday, February 17, 2012
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