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Europe Taking Much Stricter Stance On Do-Not-Track Rules

1. September 2011

John Simpson, spokesman for the non-profit Consumer Watchdog advocacy group says “the Europeans have exactly the right approach. They are asking that a consumer must be given the right to opt in before a cookie is placed.” Simpson says the IAB’s icon alert mechanism is “mostly window dressing.” He says if European regulators do end up imposing a strict opt-in rule across Europe, Google, Facebook and the other data aggregators and ad networks will be forced to comply to do business in Europe.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Asks Senate Antitrust Committee To Require Google CEO Larry Page to Testify

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

31. August 2011

Group Cites DOJ Investigation That Found He Condoned Illegal Activity

SANTA MONICA, CA – Citing recent revelations that Google CEO Larry Page condoned Google’s criminal violation of laws prohibiting the importation of drugs to U.S. consumers by Canadian pharmacies, Consumer Watchdog called on the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee to require him to testify at its planned hearing in September.

Blog Post

Prosecutor says Larry Page knew Google was breaking the law

Posted by John M. Simpson

29. August 2011

It became clear over the weekend why Google agreed to a whopping $500 million settlement with the Justice Department to end criminal charges that it aided in the sale of illegal drugs from Canada. Co-founder and CEO Larry Page knew that the Internet giant was breaking the law.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Says Online Ad Industry Self-Regulation Fails to Protect Privacy; Calls for Congress to Enact Do Not Track Me Law

CONTACT: Carmen Balber

29. August 2011

WASHINGTON, DC — Consumer Watchdog said that the self-regulatory privacy program created by online advertisers and scheduled to take effect for some today fails to protect consumers from companies that track their behavior online. Legislation enacting a “Do Not Track Me” option is necessary to ensure consumers have an easy to use, effective and universal choice to avoid tracking, said Consumer Watchdog.

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Experts Positive on Facebook’s New Privacy Controls

By Juan Carlos Perez , PCWORLD.COM

24. August 2011

Privacy advocates and security experts have given Facebook a preliminary thumbs-up on the upcoming changes designed to improve privacy controls on its site.

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Google Shells Out $500M to DoJ Over Shady Drug Ads

By Erika Morphy , E-COMMERCE TIMES

24. August 2011

Google has agreed to a US$500 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for allowing online Canadian pharmacies to place ads through its AdWords program targeting consumers in the United States.

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Critics Calls for Deeper Scrutiny of Dubious Google Ads

By Byron Acohido , USA TODAY

24. August 2011

The non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog is calling for federal regulators to take a closer look at home loan, credit repair and health products ads that rely on Google’s AdWords technology to saturate the Internet with dubious advertising claims. That comes after the U.S. Department of Justice today hit Google with a $500 million sanction for enabling AdWords ads promoting illegal pharmaceutical drugs.

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Praises Justice Department For Forcing Google’s $500 Million Forfeiture Over Illegal Ads; Settlement Represents Only Tip Of Iceberg, Group Says

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

24. August 2011

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog praised the U.S. Justice Department today for forcing Google to forfeit $500 million because it allowed illegal drug ads through its AdWords program, but said the problem of predatory and deceptive advertising on the Internet giant’s services continues. Further enforcement action by regulators is needed, the group said.

Blog Post

Does Google-Motorola Pose Anti-Competitive Danger?

Posted by Jamie Court

15. August 2011

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?

News Clipping

Web Tracking Has Become A Privacy Time Bomb

By Byron Acohido , USA TODAY

3. August 2011

Google has been widely known to scan the contents of Gmail messages to deliver targeted text ads. While some don’t mind, others believe scanning e-mail to deliver more relevant ads is an invasion of privacy. John Simpson, spokesman for the non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, isn’t convinced the search giant will necessarily stop there. “Part of the problem is that Google collects and stores tremendous amounts of data about its users,” Simpson says. “The only assurance we have about what Google’s intentions are boils down to ‘Trust us.'”

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