Press Release
SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today called on the federal government to suspend any contracts with Google to provide so-called “cloud computing” services after it was revealed the Internet giant misrepresented the security of those services.
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Consumer Watchdog and the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) both expressed measured confidence about the proposal as well. Consumer Watchdog said the DoJ’s conditions would “focus unprecedented and necessary regulatory scrutiny on the Internet giant,” but that even with the rules in place, Google could still drive up ticket prices due to its dominance in search.
Press Release
Full Investigation Of Anticompetitive Search Practices Needed, Consumer Watchdog Says
WASHINGTON, DC — The Department of Justice’s conditions on Google’s $700 million deal to buy ITA Software will focus unprecedented and necessary regulatory scrutiny on the Internet giant, Consumer Watchdog said today. The nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group called on the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google’s anticompetitive search practices.
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A number of recent public opinion surveys have shown support for do-not-track mechanisms. Consumer Watchdog said a poll commissioned last summer showed that 84% of respondents wanted to prevent online companies from tracking personal information without a person’s explicit, written approval.
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The state bill (SB 671), the so-called “Do Not Track Me” law, would allow people to opt out of the “collection, use, and storage” of personal data by any firm. Consumer Watchdog, a backer of the bill, has challenged Google to support such privacy protection.
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John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog said it’s still unclear whether any of the federal measures will pass and, in any case, there’s no reason for the Golden State to wait. It could put pressure on federal legislators and regulators to catch up. He noted that a law implementing the “Do Not Call” register, which many see as an analog to “Do Not Track,” passed in California before a federal law was enacted.
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Privacy advocates welcomed the idea of a grand jury probe, saying consumers often had little information about how the apps they downloaded were sharing data collected from their mobile devices. “I think of them as spy phones, not smart phones,” said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project.
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In December, the FTC recommended that the technology industry create a do-no-track tool for Web users. In the following months, Google, Mozilla and Microsoft all announced do-not-track features in their browsers. Those browsers offer simple ways for Web users to opt out of tracking efforts, said John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s privacy director.
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The legislation would require businesses to “provide a consumer in California with a method to opt out” of the “collection, use and storage” of consumer information, the bill states. It also gives the California Attorney General and the California Office of Privacy Protection the authority to “develop and enforce do-not-track regulations,” according to a press release issued today by Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy group.
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“I don’t think the average consumer has any idea that what most people consider smartphones are nothing more than spy phones,” said John Simpson, director of the privacy project at Consumer Watchdog.
