SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today praised European data protection authorities for asking Google to delay implementation of its new privacy and data policies and said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission should determine whether the new policies violate the terms of Google’s consent agreement with the commission.
Continue reading...Thursday, February 2, 2012
The law would allow Netflix and other providers to share movie titles not only with social-media outlets such as Facebook, but also with third-party partners. Privacy advocates hate the proposal. "It is a horrible idea," Consumer Watchdog's John M. Simpson told TechNewsWorld.
Continue reading...Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson points out that personalized advertisements targeted directly to a specific user, based on user-collected information, can be “a substantial amount” more lucrative than just an anonymous ad. And with all the information Google can collect about your interests from your searches, your Google Docs, and your favorite YouTube videos, they can figure out pretty specifically what ads they should show you. “They are positioning this as streamlining privacy,” Simpson says. “But that’s just PR. It’s all about better targeting for advertisers.”
Continue reading...Wednesday, February 1, 2012
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today called for a Congressional briefing about Google’s new privacy and data policies to be open to the public and said a closed door-session with the lawmakers demonstrated Google executive’s “hypocrisy.”
Continue reading...Wednesday, February 1, 2012
"It's hard to predict exactly what sort of gaffe they’ll do next, but it would not surprise me if there is yet another one," said John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project, noting some concerns over Facebook’s recent expansion of its Timeline feature, which makes it easier to visualize, share, and view users’ profile history.
Continue reading...Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Even as a private company, Facebook had no problem pushing the envelope, Consumer Watchdog spokesperson Carmen Balber told the E-Commerce Times. "Facebook is already treading dangerous waters as far as privacy rights are concerned. The pressure to monetize consumers' user data will be greater when there are shareholders to satisfy."
Continue reading...Thursday, January 26, 2012
Facebook, et al., have descended on the city in the hope of softening some of the restrictions, while privacy advocates such as John M. Simpson, the Privacy Project director at Consumer Watchdog, are there to keep the EU on its intended path.
Continue reading...Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The announcement of the changes sparked concern among privacy watchdogs both in the United States and the European Union. "Consumers' online privacy is being eroded," growled John Simpson, a consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog.
Continue reading...Wednesday, January 25, 2012
This privacy practice changes will likely also provoke protests from the Electronic Information Privacy Center, which is currently opposing Search, plus your world, as well as the Consumer Watchdog agency.
Continue reading...Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Google's New Arrogant Data Consolidation Policy Underscores Need For Strong Protections BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Landmark online privacy regulations proposed in Europe today that include the concept of a "right to be forgotten" could help provide U.S. consumers with tools necessary to protect their data held by Internet giants like Google, Facebook and Microsoft, if ultimately enacted, Consumer Watchdog said today.
Continue reading...
Friday, February 3, 2012
0 Comments