Inside Google

“Once again Google has demonstrated a lack of concern for privacy,” Consumer Watchdog Consumer Advocate John M. Simpson said in a statement. “Its computer engineers run amok, push the envelope and gather whatever data they can until their fingers are caught in the cookie jar. Then a Google executive apologizes, mouthing bafflegab about how privacy matters to the company.”

Consumer Watchdog, a group that has become one of Google’s most outspoken critics, renewed its call for a regulatory crackdown Friday. “Once again, Google has demonstrated a lack of concern for privacy,” said Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson. “Its computer engineers run amok, push the envelope and gather whatever data they can until their fingers are caught in the cookie jar.”

Consumer Watchdog says the FTC should find out exactly what Google logged, how long it collected the information and what it ended up doing with it. “Google has demonstrated a history of pushing the envelope and then apologizing when its overreach is discovered,” the group said Monday in a press release. “Given its recent record of privacy abuses, there is absolutely no reason to trust anything the Internet giant claims about its data collection policies.”

Google could announce this week that it will move SSL encryption implemented in Gmail to other services such as search. During the company’s annual shareholders meeting a question on this from John Simpson, an investor who works for Consumer Watchdog, prompted a curt “Do you get the drift of the answer?” from Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt after Google vice president of search Marissa Mayer replied “stay tuned.” Encryption has moved to the forefront after Google’s admission last week it had collected small pieces of private information people sent through unencrypted wireless networks.

Germany’s Consumer Affairs Minister Ilse Aigner blasted Google over the weekend for its “accidental” collection of personal data by Street View cars driving by the homes of citizens in Germany (and the U.S. and other countries all around the world).

John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that is a frequent critic of Google, said the company had demonstrated a “lack of concern for privacy. Its computer engineers run amok, push the envelope and gather whatever data they can until their fingers are caught in the cookie jar,” Simpson said. “The takeaway from this incident is the clear need for government oversight and regulation of the data all online companies gather and store,” he said.

John Simpson from the Consumer Watchdog has said that appropriate government agencies must now ensure the data is appropriately deleted. “Once again Google has demonstrated a lack of concern for privacy,” said Mr Simpson. “Its computer engineers run amok, push the envelope and gather whatever data they can until their fingers are caught in the cookie jar. Then a Google executive apologizes, mouthing bafflegab about how privacy matters to the company. “The takeaway from this incident is the clear need for government oversight and regulation of the data all online companies gather and store,” he added.

John Simpson, from the Consumer Watchdog, told the BBC: “The problem is [Google] have a bunch of engineers who push the envelope and gather as much information as they can and don’t think about the ramifications of that.”

Consumer Watchdog, a group that has become one of Google’s most outspoken critics, renewed its call for a regulatory crackdown Friday. “Once again, Google has demonstrated a lack of concern for privacy,” said Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson. “Its computer engineers run amok, push the envelope and gather whatever data they can until their fingers are caught in the cookie jar.”

An admission today that Google’s StreetView cars were gathering private information from WiFi networks shows the company’s lack of concern for privacy and the need for government inspection of the data the company is collecting and storing, Consumer Watchdog said.