Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC — Any plan offered by Google meant to overcome
objections to the proposed Google Books settlement must include a
“binding agreement with the full force of law,” Consumer Watchdog told
the U.S. Justice Department today. Justice has until Friday to file
its position on the books settlement with the court.
News Clipping
Internet-search giant Google is making conciliatory gestures in an effort to blunt mounting opposition to a copyright deal that is the foundation of its plan to build the biggest online library, Google Books. Urging the court to reject the Google Books deal, Consumer Watchdog, a
consumer group, said last week the proposed settlement conflicts with
international copyright treaties such as the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It "would strip rights from
millions of absent-class members worldwide, for the sole benefit of
Google," referring to authors and publishers who did not or could not
opt out of the deal between Google and the Guild for the Google Book
Search.
News Clipping
Concerns center on possible monopoly, invasion of privacy
John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog,
a California-based non-profit, said a key problem is the unfair
competitive advantage Google receives under the settlement that comes
from its attempt to pull an end-run around the appropriate legislative solution
to the orphan books problem. “This is not an issue for a court and
certainly one that cannot be settled by solving the problem for one
large corporation and no one else,” he said in testimony before the
House Judiciary Committee last week.
Blog Post
Things got busy fast this week in DC as Congress returned from the month-long summer break.
Finance committee chair Sen. Max Baucus released his long-awaited health reform proposal on Tuesday after months of closed-door meetings…
News Clipping
By failing to pass orphan works legislation in previous sessions, Congress practically guaranteed a messy settlement would result from Google’s scanning and display of millions of out-of-print works found only in libraries, several lawmakers said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday. Consumer Watchdog’s John M. Simpson, perhaps Google’s most vocal
nonprofit critic in Washington, said the settlement "simply furthers
the relatively narrow agenda" of Google, the Authors Guild and
Association of American Publishers. Congress should pass orphan-works
or fair-use legislation, so Google won’t get an "unprecedented
monopolistic advantage" over some books.
Press Release
Testimony Says Deal Violates Law, Is Anti-Competitive And Raises Privacy Concerns
WASHINGTON, DC — The proposed Google Books settlement should be
rejected because it is anticompetitive, violates both U.S. and
international law and raises substantial threats to privacy, Consumer
Watchdog’s John M. Simpson told the House Judiciary Committee today.
News Clipping
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Congressional committee will review the pros and cons of a class-action settlement that would give Google Inc. the digital rights
to millions of copyrighted books that are no long being published. The
antitrust concerns prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to open an
investigation into whether the settlement will undermine competition.
The Justice Department is scheduled to report some of its preliminary
filings to Chin by Sept. 18. Other critics, including consumer
watchdog groups and some library associations, are worried the deal
will open a window on what kinds of books people are reading.
News Clipping
Consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog warned that "if the
settlement were approved, it would give Google a default monopoly to
books for which the rightsholders cannot be located, resulting in
unfair competitive advantages to Google in the search engine,
electronic book sales, and other markets."
News Clipping
A group of 10 consumer advocacy groups, including the U.S. Public
Interest Research Group, Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of
America, has called on the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to
protect consumer privacy amid the growing use of Internet technology
that tracks consumers’ online behavior. A bill is expected to be
submitted this fall in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet.
News Clipping
The National Writers Union and Consumer Watchdog were among those to
file briefs urging rejection as the Google Book Search Settlement
deadline officially passed this morning. Although the final lineup of
objectors won’t be known until all the last-minute briefs have been
processed by the court, the groups join DC Comics, The American Society
of Journalists and Authors, a coalition of some 58 authors and the Open
Book Alliance (which includes Google competitors Microsoft and
Amazon.com) in urging the court to reject the proposed settlement.
