Inside Google

Google Beats Microsoft in the E-Mail Battle of Los Angeles

Clint Boulton

Google won the battle with Microsoft for the right to move Los Angeles’ 30,000 municipal employees to its e-mail system, knocking out Novell’s GroupWise platform for the $7.25 million contract. However, the contract comes with a caveat. Google must compensate the
city if its e-mail service is breached and data is stolen. The Los
Angeles Council voted to add the penalty provision 9-3. Consumer
advocates applauded this motion. "Los Angeles residents cannot be sure the city’s confidential or
sensitive data will be secure," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate
with Consumer Watchdog, "but at least they know there will be a penalty
if security is compromised. It’s essential that this project be closely
watched to ensure that Google keeps its promises."

LA Council Insists On Added Security Breach Penalty As It Oks Move To Google’s ‘Cloud’

John M. Simpson

Project Demands Close Monitoring To Guarantee Citizen’s Privacy Consumer Watchdog Says

Los Angeles, CA — The Los Angeles City Council voted today to move the
city’s 30,000 email users to a system provided by Google, but only
after a provision that the city be compensated if there is security
breach in the data held on Google’s servers.

Google Selected To Handle City’s E-mail Operation

Rick Orlov

CONTRACT: Deal Could Save $5 Million, But Some Still Have Security Concerns

Google trumped Microsoft and Novell on Tuesday, winning a $7.25 million contract to create an e-mail system for workers in Los Angeles. John Simpson with the group Consumer Watchdog warned against adopting
the Google system until more work is completed on security. "It may be the thing of the future, but I’m not sure it is there yet,"
Simpson said. "The security checks don’t exist yet. It is the gleam in
Google’s eyes." Part of the City Council’s approval was based on promises from Google that it will reimburse the city for any damages.  

L.A. City Council To Vote On Google E-mail Contract

David Sarno

Questions about cost, security and reliability remain, but the council is expected to decide Tuesday.

After concerns were raised about how Google would secure sensitive data
from law enforcement agencies, the company announced plans to finish
work on a "government cloud," a separate set of servers with enhanced
security, sometime next year. But completion of the government cloud is not a guarantee, said John
Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy group
that has been critical of the Google contract. "If you build it and vet it and test it, great, but don’t commit to going onto it until it actually exists," he said.

Con: Why Los Angeles Should Worry About Google’s E-mail System

John M. Simpson

Google wants the city of Los Angeles to switch its 30,000 e-mail users
to an Internet-based system it operates, but rather than address real
questions about the security of such "cloud computing" systems the
Internet giant changes its story depending on its audience.

Press Release

Critics Of Google Online-Books Deal Seek Delay

CONTACT: Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Critics of Google’s deal with an authors’ group to put millions of books online have asked for a delay in a hearing set to consider the settlement in a court filing on Thursday. A long list of critics of the deal, including Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft, the National Writers Union, Consumer Watchdog and singer Arlo Guthrie, argued on Thursday that the original class action settlement was long and complex and any changes would only add to its complexity

Will City of L.A. jump into Google’s cloud?

Jamie Court

I spent all afternoon Monday waiting at the LA City Council Budget Committee to give the Council members my two minutes on why Google’s proposal to put the City’s computing into its cloud could be dangerous. In a nutshell: Security,…

Google Using ‘Double Talk’ On Cloud Security, Says L.A. Consumer Group

Jaikumar Vijayan

A consumer advocacy group that is opposed to a plan by the city of Los Angeles to adopt Google’s hosted e-mail and office applications is accusing the company of a double standard on security issues. In a letter to Bernard Parks, chairman of the Los Angeles City
Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, Consumer Watchdog claimed that
Google was being hypocritical in marketing Google Apps to the city.

Consumer Watchdog Highlights Google Hypocrisy In Differing ‘Cloud Computing’ Statements

John M. Simpson

Group Also Releases 3rd Round Of Annotated Google Documents In ‘Charmwatch’ Campaign

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today slammed Google for its
apparent hypocrisy in marketing its new "cloud computing" products,
blandly assuring customers that their data is secure on Google Internet
servers but at the same time warning shareholders of the security risks
posed by swift expansion of its commercial online business. The
nonpartisan, nonprofit group sent a letter to a Los Angeles City
Councilman showing that Google says one thing when trying to sell its
products, but something else in federally required filings aimed at
shareholders. Consumer Watchdog also released another round of
annotated Google P.R. documents in its Google “Charmwatch” campaign.  

Microsoft’s Sidekick Debacle Brings Much-Hyped ‘Cloud’ Back To Earth

David Sarno

In a letter last week to City Councilman Bernard C. Parks, John Simpson
of advocacy group Consumer Watchdog noted the stark language Google
uses to describe the many things that could go wrong with its
cloud-based systems.