Inside Google

Some of the issues Google focused on include competition in online advertising, online privacy and security, free trade, censorship, the H.R. 399 bill and trademark issues. Google’s presence in the U.S. government is spurring some policy watchers, like Consumer Watchdog to call for Eric Schmidt to register as a lobbyist. “Schmidt could well have reached the threshold requiring registration as a lobbyist; he is clearly trying to influence policy,” said John M. Simpson, Director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest group’s Privacy Project. “It certainly should be checked out.”

Google’s increasing influence in Washington is setting off alarm bells for some policy watchers. California-based public interest group Consumer Watchdog is calling for Google chairman Eric Schmidt to register formally as a lobbyist, since he personally is spending increasing amounts of time working in government relations. “Schmidt could well have reached the threshold requiring registration as a lobbyist; he is clearly trying to influence policy,” said Consumer Watchdog director John Simpson in a press release issued Thursday. “It certainly should be checked out.”

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.

Why has economic inequality increased so radically in the United States over the last generation? General explanations range from globalization to the decline in trade unions to rising returns to education — and therefore the loss of income to the less educated. These all no doubt play a role but in an age of information, […]

John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project commented on the news, “A top Google executive will finally face serious questioning about the company’s behavior.”

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.

A leading California consumer group has formally asked White House counsel to rule on the ethics of what it calls the Obama Administration’s “inappropriate” outreach — including State Dinner invites — to head honchos of Google, a firm reportedly under criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

In January, Consumer Watchdog released a report that detailed the range of the federal government’s current contracts with Google. The amount of cash the group found is only $40 million, a tiny amount compared to Google’s annual revenue of almost $30 billion. But the contracts give the company a competitive edge in key emerging markets, as well as highlight the deepening relationship between Google and the Obama administration — and the conflicts of interest that could potentially arise.

Jamie Court, who heads Consumer Watchdog, said it’s clear the Silicon Valley’s tech executives have cultivated a “hoodie and Converse” profile to mask what he says is a traditional corporate adherence to bottom-line profit concerns.

Google confirmed Friday that the Federal Trade Commission has launched an antitrust investigation of the company, but posted an elaborate defense of its business practices. “Yesterday, we received formal notification from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that it has begun a review of our business,” Google said in a blog post. “We respect the FTC’s […]