Inside Google

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today called on the federal government to suspend any contracts with Google to provide so-called “cloud computing” services after it was revealed the Internet giant misrepresented the security of those services.

In court papers unsealed on April 8, the U.S. Justice Department said that Google claimed its “Google Apps for Government”  had received Federal Information Security Management Act certification from the General Service Administration when in fact it had not.

Separately, in Los Angeles, two City Council committees were holding a hearing on why Google has failed to deliver security requirements needed by the city’s Police Department in order for it to use Google’s email system.

A draft of a notice of deficiency sent by the city to Google and CSC, the company installing the system, and obtained by Consumer Watchdog said:

“These failures are wholly unacceptable to the City of Los Angeles.  CSC and Google have repeatedly committed to meet particular deliverables on specific dates, only to reveal, at the last minute, that the set deliverables/dates will not be met.  CSC and Google’s behavior goes beyond a mere failure to communicate in a timely manner, and instead, on several occasions, has risen to the level of misrepresentation.”

“Apparently Google makes whatever statements are necessary to win a contract and then worries about living up to its promises later,” said John M. Simpson, director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group’s Privacy Project. “This sort of hype is all too common with advertising companies and Google is one — but it cannot be allowed for a company responsible for the security of government information.”

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Consumer Watchdog, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization with offices in Washington, DC and Santa Monica, CA. Consumer Watchdog’s website is http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org. Visit our new Google Privacy and Accountability Project website: http://insidegoogle.com.