Inside Google

Press Release

EU’s Google Antitrust Deal Beats FTC, But Still Doesn’t Do Enough

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

Details of Google’s proposed settlement with the European Union to avoid antitrust charges have been leaking out of Brussels over the weekend. And while EU competition authorities appear to have accomplished more that the gentle tap on the wrist meted out by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the deal as so far revealed doesn’t do enough to end Google’s anti-competitive practices.

Press Release

Did The FTC Find Its Spine In Google Probe? We Need To Keep The Pressure On

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

Last weekend news broke that the Federal Trade Commission was about to settle its two-year antitrust investigation of Google with what charitably could be termed a slight tap on the wrist. But by Tuesday night the reported holiday gift to the Internet giant was unraveling and the FTC signaled it would keep the investigation going into January. So what’s behind the Commission’s new found spine? Is it real? Will it last?

Press Release

Google Ruling Shows Need For Do Not Track And Strong Antitrust Action

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

A federal judge’s ruling late Friday in a key privacy case demonstrates the need to implement tough “Do Not Track” rules and to take decisive action on the antitrust front against Google.

Press Release

FTC Readies Antitrust Suit Against Google; Consumer Watchdog Called For Breakup Two Years Ago

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

News broke over the weekend that Federal Trade Commission staff is calling for the Commission to bring an antitrust case against Google for abusing its dominance in search, an action Consumer Watchdog first called for more than two years ago.

FTC Estimates Google’s Privacy Hack Earned Up To $4 million

John M. Simpson

One of the things you hear when companies try to minimize the impact of privacy violations is an attempt to claim there was no financial harm to consumers. However, in an interesting development the Federal Trade Commission is now publicly estimating that Google’s hack around Apple’s Safari browser privacy settings earned the Internet giant up to $ 4 million.

Judge Orders Google, Oracle To Reveal Any Payments To Writers

John M. Simpson

Ever wonder who is behind some of the opinions expressed by various bloggers. Could it be that some are being paid to express particular views? Are they hit-men-for-hire?

Well, you’re not the only one to ask. The difference, though, is that this person can demand answers. The federal judge presiding in the Oracle v. Google patent infringement case wants to know if either company paid commentators or bloggers during the case.

Press Release

Google Antitrust Deal In Europe Would Impact U.S.

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

Google — facing the possibility of a penalty of around $4 billion — is trying to cut a deal with European antitrust regulators that would settle the regulators’ objections without having to pay a fine.
It’s not certain that an agreement can be reached, but if one is, it will have a direct impact on the United States. Joaquin Almunia, EU competition commissioner, said that any concessions the Internet giant offers to resolve the EU’s antitrust concerns would be applied worldwide.

They’re Finally Getting Google’s Number

John M. Simpson

Consumer Watchdog has long held the view that Google’s executives are hypocrites, claiming their mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful, while remaining deeply secretive about the company’s activities. It wasn’t a popular view of the Internet giant. I think many people used to see Google as a […]

Google faces questions from Congress; session should be public

John M. Simpson

Google is facing more questions from Congress. The Internet giant’s deliberate circumventing of privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser — that’s the one used on iPhones and iPads — is prompting the outrage. The deliberate privacy breach was discovered by Stanford University researcher Jonathan Mayer and reported first by The Wall Street Journal.

EPIC Files Suit To Block Google’s New Data Policy

John M. Simpson

Our friends at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) went to court Wednesday to block Google from combining data gathered from its various services without users’ consent.