Inside Google

FTC ‘carefully monitoring’ online tracking

I just received an encouraging letter from the Federal Trade Commission assuring me that its Division of Privacy and Identity Protection is “carefully monitoring the privacy issues associated with online tracking.” The letter, from Maneesha Mithal, the division’s Associate Director, was in response to our recent complaint about companies who said they would not track […]

We need a right to be forgotten

I remember as a young newspaper reporter going to different jurisdictions where public records were kept and putting together background information on an individual. I had to have a compelling reason to do it, because although the records were public, it took considerable effort to gather the information. With the Internet and the advent of […]

Is Google adding a default security setting?

One of the dangers of using public Wi-Fi networks at coffee shops and the like is that anybody else on the network can read your email, Facebook postings, search requests and easily hack into your account unless the data is encrypted. The most common is SSL encryption using the HTTPS protocol.  If you use it, […]

Should you believe what Eric Schmidt says or what Google does?

Actions speak louder than words. That’s why I’m not putting much stock in what Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt says anymore.

Google: Just another corporation …

Part of Google’s appeal has been the way its executives have been able to portray the Internet giant as not a typical corporateering behemoth simply focused on fattening the bottom line. I’ve argued that despite the self-serving attempt to portray their company as something different, Google is in fact like the rest. Google executives’ acts and words this week show I’m right.

Google and Facebook Lobbying Expenditures Soar to Records; Consumer Watchdog Asks If Eric Schmidt Should Register As A Lobbyist

SANTA MONICA, CA — Google and Facebook pumped record amounts into their lobbying efforts during the second quarter, according to just filed disclosure reports. Google’s spending soared to $2.06 million, a 54 percent increase from the same period a year ago. Facebook spent $320,000 — nearly as much as its total lobbying expenses for all of last year.

Google and Facebook lobby expense reports likely to set new records Wednesday

Lobbying expenditure reports are due to be filed with the the Senate Office of Public Records Wednesday and you can expect record expenditures from both Facebook and Google.

Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt To Testify Before Senate Committee After Yearlong Campaign By Consumer Watchdog For Congressional Hearings

SANTA MONICA, CA — Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee in September the committee said today. The announcement comes after an intensive campaign by Consumer Watchdog to require Schmidt’s sworn testimony before Congress that included two widely viewed satirical videos.

Consumer Watchdog Asks White House Counsel To Rule That Administration Must Distance Itself From Google During Probes

WASHINGTON, DC — Consumer Watchdog has asked the White House Counsel to rule that President Obama and other members of the Administration must distance themselves from Google while the company is the target of serious federal investigations, including a criminal probe into allegations the search giant profited from selling online ads to illegal pharmacies.

Press Release

FTC targets Google for antitrust probe

Since April when Bloomberg News reported that the Federal Trade Commission was contemplating a full-blown antitrust investigation of Google, people who follow the Internet giant have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did on Thursday with the report in the Wall Street Journal that the five-member Commission is about to serve Google with civil subpoenas — known as Civil Investigative Demands — about its business practices.