Archive | November, 2009
Google Creates Privacy Dashboard
Google, which has had a bullseye on its back when it comes to Internet privacy, on Thursday launched a Web site that shows people what data Gmail, Google Calendar and more than a dozen other Google products store about them. John Simpson of consumer-advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog said
the dashboard focuses on data that people have consciously shared with
Google while they are logged into various Google accounts, but ignores
all the data that Google collects and ties to a user’s computer address
and through other software, known as cookies. “The dashboard is really the appearance of control without giving users
the ability to see how Google tracks them all over the place,” he said.
Google Dashboard Is Small Step For User Control, Consumer Watchdog Says
5. November 2009
Group Calls for ‘Make-Me-Anonymous’ Button On Home Page
SANTA MONICA, CA — The new Google Dashboard touted by the Internet
giant as offering users “transparency, choice and control” of user data
stored by the company doesn’t give consumers adequate control over
protecting their information from Google’s marketing machine, Consumer
Watchdog said today. Consumer Watchdog applauded the company for giving consumers a single
place to go to manage data, but said Google needed to give consumers
the ability to stop being tracked by the company and to delete
information associated with their computer’s IP address from the Google
servers.
Press Release
Big Bird’s Birthday: Part Of Google’s Charm Campaign?
CONTACT: David Grant
4. November 2009
For Big Bird’s birthday, the Sesame Street icon’s feet replaced the L in Google’s search logo. Is Google pressing Big Bird into the service of its charm offensive?
Critics say its corporate motto of
“Don’t be evil” is a smoke screen for invasive procedures that are
stripping away privacy (like scanning your gmail account for keywords
to create targeted advertising). “I love Google. But I also fear Google,” says Jamie Court, president of
Consumer Watchdog. “It’s made finding information remarkably easy, but
I’m not under any illusion that that’s a free lunch. And most Internet
users have had their eyes opened recently to the fact that they are
being tracked and they don’t have a way of stopping that.”
Google To Unveil New Privacy Controls
4. November 2009
Google Inc. will announce a feature tomorrow that will give users more
control over their online privacy, according to a consumer advocate who
discussed the matter with the company. John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog hasn’t reviewed Google Dashboard yet,
because he refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement. But attorneys for
the Mountain View search giant informed him the new feature would be
unveiled on Thursday, he told The Chronicle.
Microsoft vs. Google: When It Comes To The Cloud, It’s War
4. November 2009
"All warfare is based on deception," goes the famous line attributed to Sun Tzu in the Art of War. It may very well be the operating principle that both Google and Microsoft have taken to heart in their battle for dominance of the office desktop and cloud. Case in point: The recent battle between the two companies
to sell office productivity and email services to the city of Los
Angeles. Last month, before the city made a decision, Google downplayed
an attack on the security of its cloud-based offerings by Consumer Watchdog
— but quickly published a "fact check" document to distribute to city
officials to support its claims about reliability and security. According to one report,
Google suggested that Consumer Watchdog was "being paid to target
Google specifically," without publicly naming the party allegedly
paying the group.
5. November 2009