Inside Google

Consumer Watchdog Says Google’s Record Lobbying Tab Shows Astounding Cynicism

Internet Giant’s Expenses Soar 240 Percent, Topping $5.03 Million In 1st Quarter

WASHINGTON DC — Google continues to pump record amounts into its effort to influence federal legislators and policymakers, spending $5.03 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2012, a 240 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago, according to new disclosures filed with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Consumer Watchdog Urges Senator Kohl To Recall Google’s Schmidt As Witness After Executive Calls Government Slow And Stupid In Interview

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.

Does Google-Motorola Pose Anti-Competitive Danger?

What if Google, the master of the cloud computing universe and the Internet’s information monopolist, were to buy Intel, Apple, or IBM? Would we want the company that controls information outside of our computers all along the Internet to also have control over a principal computer hardware maker and its patents?

Do-Not-Track-Online One Step Closer To Being National Right

A poll by Consumer Watchdog found that 90 percent of Americans want legislation to protect their online privacy, and 80 percent support a Do Not Track mechanism. Another 86 percent want a single-click button on their browsers that makes them anonymous when they search online.

Viewpoints: ‘Do Not Track’ Would Protect Online Privacy

Why should iPhone and Android users have to worry about being spied on by their smart phones? Shouldn’t we be able to say no to some of California’s biggest companies, Google and Facebook, when they violate our privacy daily by tracking us online and collecting massive amounts of our private information without our explicit consent?

Consumer Watchdog Asks FTC To Probe Google’s Deceptive Trade Practices In Marketing Google Apps for Government; Buzz Agreement Maybe Violated

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today said Google used deceptive and unfair trade practices in marketing its “cloud computing” services to government entities and asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.

Will Schmidt Divest From Google to Become Commerce Secretary?

The strong buzz in Washington, DC is that Google CEO Eric Schmidt is President Obama’s top choice for Commerce Secretary and an appointment is coming soon. The CEO who made billions collecting our personal information online and serving us up to advertisers, the guy who created online privacy problems, would head the federal agency responsible for developing and executing the administration’s online privacy policies.

Consumer Watchdog To President Obama: Tapping Google CEO For Commerce Secretary, Obama’s Voice On Privacy, Is Like Appointing Madoff To Head SEC

Washington, DC — Consumer Watchdog warned President Obama in a letter today about the dire consequences for consumers worldwide of appointing Google CEO Eric Schmidt Commerce Secretary.

Will Google Maps Camera-Equipped Tricycles Take Pictures Of Our Kids Playground?

Google’s grand experiment in photographing the world’s places for Google Maps has taken its “street view” cameras off-road with new hi-tech tricycles equipped with 360 degree view cameras to photograph the back roads, parks, college paths and inner sanctums of our world. The engineer’s latest design raises the question: What will Google be capturing on its back-road tour that people don’t want seen?

Schmidt Out Of Google’s CEO Office, But Is Privacy In?

Google CEO Eric Schmidt will be leaving the CEO’s office and founder Larry Page will be stepping in. The question is whether this is a signal from the Internet Goliath that Schmidt’s missteps and misstatements about online privacy are no longer company policy.