Inside Google

Google to Settle State ‘Wi-Spy’ Spat Out of Court

Consumer Watchdog decried today’s agreement between Google and the state. “The details of the biggest privacy breach in history shouldn’t be settled in secret,” said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Inside Google Project. “This makes it clear why Google CEO Eric Schmidt needs to testify under oath before Congress about Wi-Spy.”

Oz Privacy Boss Says Google Wi-Fi Slurp Breached Law

In an effort to spur a Congressional investigation in the States, the consumer watchdog known as Consumer Watchdog has retraced Street View’s past Washington D.C. routes and found that various members of Congress have open Wi-Fi networks whose data may have been lifted by the Google cars. The watchdog wrote a letter to Representative Jane Harman, chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment and a former ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, telling her that Google may have lifted her personal info.

Watchdog Backs Google Antitrust Complaint with (More) Data

Public advocate and longtime Google critic Consumer Watchdog has issued a report [1] alleging that the web giant may have used its search monopoly to illegally drive traffic to its own services.

Google’s WiFi Snoop – Who Knew and Who Didn’t?

“The FTC needs to ask what did Google know and when did Google know it,” says John Simpson. “Google’s suggestion for a third-party audit is inadequate…That would be like like getting to pick and pay the referees in a championship basketball game. This investigation must be done by a regulatory authority capable of imposing real sanctions.”

Buzzed Gmail Outs Google Ties to Obama’s Deputy CTO

Ex-Googler Hoist By Mountain View’s Own Petard It would be hard to imagine a better Google story. If the company’s own web services somehow outed the most intimate secrets of CEO Eric Schmidt – a man who says net privacy is only for miscreants – that would surely be Google story to end all Google […]

Press Release

US Judge Postpones Googlebooks Hearing

$125 Million Pact ‘Raises Significant Issues’

"Clearly, voices such as ours had an impact on Judge Chin," says John
Simpson, of the consumer watchdog known as Consumer Watchdog, one of
the many organizations opposed to the deal. "There was no way the
proposed settlement could go forward. Consumer Watchdog is pleased
there will be a status hearing on the case on Oct. 7." Like the Open Book Alliance – a group that includes the Internet
Archive, Microsoft, and Amazon – Consumer Watchdog advocates solving
the ebook copyright issue with federal legislation. "We believe that will demonstrate that the proper place to solve many
of the case’s thorniest problems, such as that of orphan books, is in
Congress," Simpson says. "Consumer Watchdog urges Congress to act
expeditiously because it is important to build digital libraries."

Press Release

DOJ Urges Court To Reject (Unedited) Googlebooks Pact

Concerns Over Class Action, Copyright, Antitrust Law

The DoJ was also praised by the consumer watchdog known as Consumer
Watchdog, a notorious thorn in Google’s side. But the watchdog argues
that even if the DoJ’s concerns are alleviated, the court should reject
the settlement. "Solving the antitrust problem is only [part] of the
problem,” said Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson.

Press Release

Obama Urged To Halt Google Government Takeover – Stop The Revolving Door

Two consumer watchdogs – including the aptly-named Consumer Watchdog – have urged US President Barack Obama to avoid appointing Google’s director of global public policy as the country’s deputy chief technology officer.

Google Openness Is A Closed Door — Open Source Versus An Open Mind

When Google meets with Congressional staffers, hoping to convince US lawmakers that it’s nothing but good for the world, the web giant likes to say that it believes in openness. "Open is better than closed, “the company says. Open "enhances competition" and "encourages innovation.” But if you ask the company to discuss its openness, it’s not too open about it. Late last week, the consumer watchdog known only as Consumer Watchdog
uncovered the canned pitch that Google recently launched at Capitol Hill in an effort to re-spin itself.

Google Lobs $880,000 At Health Record Lobby – What Ye Worry?

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Why is Google lobbying the US Congress over the webification of the nation’s health records? It won’t say. But lobbying it is. Consumer Watchdog is convinced that Google is lobbying for exclusion
from the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA), which provides privacy protections for America’s personal
health records. As it stands, the laws that govern what doctors can do
with a patient’s medical records do not apply to the Google Chocolate
Factory. If you upload your health records to Google, you have to
assume the company will always do the right thing.