Inside Google – Page 12 – A Consumer Watchdog Investigation.

Tue, Oct 23, 2012

Press Release

Google, Facebook Continue Pumping Money Into Lobbying Efforts Setting New Records

SANTA MONICA, CA — Google and Facebook continued to pump money into their Washington lobbying efforts in the third quarter with the Internet giant spending its second most amount in one quarter while the social networking company spent its most ever for one quarter.
“Google and Facebook would have you believe that they are different from other corporations,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project director. “They are not. They are following the corrupt corporate tradition in Washington: buying what you want.”

Fri, Oct 19, 2012

News Clipping

Microsoft Expands Gathering and Use of Data From Web Products

By Edward Wyatt

”What Microsoft is doing is no different from what Google did,” said John M. Simpson, who monitors privacy policy for Consumer Watchdog, a California nonprofit group. ”It allows the combination of data across services in ways a user wouldn’t reasonably expect. Microsoft wants to be able to compile massive digital dossiers about users of its services and monetize them.”

Thu, Oct 18, 2012

Press Release

Google, Oracle Of Transparency, Gets Caught By Transparency; Consumer Watchdog Says Earnings Report Glitch Should Be Wake Up Call For Online Privacy

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog urged the founders of Google to take today’s early leak of financial information — which caused Google to ask to suspend trading in its stock — as a wake up call for the billionaire executives and prompt them to support giving Google users the right to suspend trading in their own private information.

Wed, Oct 17, 2012

News Clipping

Google Razzle Dazzles With Data Center Display

By Richard Adhikari

“Putting a data center on Street View is a gimmick,” Consumer Watchdog’s John M. Simpson told TechNewsWorld. “It doesn’t reveal anything meaningful about how Google does business. Google says it wants to organize the world’s information and make it more accessible but, when it comes to its own information and procedures, the company remains a black box.”

Tue, Oct 16, 2012

News Clipping

Google Privacy Policy Changes Pressed For By EU Board

By Kevin Shalvey

John Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog, a group critical of Google, says in a statement that Google acted with “complete disregard” for users’ privacy. “I am glad the European Union is calling out their abuses, but am disappointed that American consumers must look across the Atlantic to see privacy rights defended,” Simpson said.

Tue, Oct 16, 2012

Press Release

Consumer Watchdog Praises EU Data Commissioners For Rebuking Google For Merged Privacy Policy

CONTACT: John M. Simpson

Calls on Federal Trade Commission To Protect U.S. Consumers

SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today praised the European data commissioners for rebuking Google’s unilateral merging of privacy policies and data across its various product lines and called on the Federal Trade Commission to act to protect U.S. consumers.

Mon, Oct 15, 2012

Blog Post

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

Posted by 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.

Mon, Oct 8, 2012

News Clipping

Drive Toward Autonomous Cars Shouldn’t Be So Automatic, Critics Warn

By Erik Derr

Consumer privacy also is at risk through the new legislation, says John Simpson, privacy project supervisor for the nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. California’s new driverless-auto law “gives the user no control over what data will be gathered and how the information will be used,” Simpson tells WardsAuto. “That’s where we have a problem.”

Thu, Oct 4, 2012

News Clipping

You Have No Privacy. Get Over It

By Graeme Burton

“Google has demonstrated an ability to out-maneuver government regulators repeatedly and ride roughshod over the privacy rights of consumers. Google continues to be disingenuous about its practices,” says John Simpson, privacy project director at US organization Consumer Watchdog.

Mon, Oct 1, 2012

Blog Post

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

Posted by 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.

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