Archive | Tag: corporateering

News Clipping

The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed on Thursday that it is
investigating a settlement involving Google Book Search for possible
antitrust violations, following months of speculation that the agency
had its eye on the service. Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit group,
argues that the proposal gives Google special protections against
lawsuits over the orphan works. Those special protections would
discourage potential Google competitors from entering the digital book
business unless they could negotiate a similar protection, the group
argues. Consumer Watchdog has urged the DOJ to examine the settlement.

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News Clipping

Eyes are rolling, especially in reaction to the idea that Google is a
relatively small player in a giant market. “They describe where they
are in a market under a kind of a fairy-tale spun gloss that doesn’t
reflect their dominance of key sectors,” said Jeff Chester, executive
director of the Center for Digital Democracy. “Google search is an
absolute must-have for every marketer in the world.”

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News Clipping

With Justice Department scrutiny over the Google Books Settlement
only the the leading edge of antitrust regulators’ attention to Google,
the company has launched a dog-and-pony show dedicated to combating the
impression that more control is needed. In a presentation (PDF)
acquired by Consumer Watchdog, Google public affairs lead Adam
Kovacevich argued that Google is anything but anti-competitive. Its
success comes from “learning by doing,” the presentation says.

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News Clipping

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Google continued to lay the groundwork Wednesday for
an antitrust defense in the event that the federal government decides
to take a formal look at its core business.
Inside a conference room in Google’s San Francisco office,
executives ran through essentially the same presentation leaked last
month by the consumer activist group Consumer Watchdog,
focusing most of their efforts on trying to paint a picture of Google
as just one part of a large Internet ecosystem, as opposed to a
dominant search giant.

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News Clipping

The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped up its review of a deal that would settle a lawsuit publishers and authors filed against Google over the latter’s book search engine, according to published reports. Consumer Watchdog has charged that the proposed settlement gives Google special protections against lawsuits over orphan works.

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News Clipping

The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly investigating Google’s
digital books settlement with publishers, which Google claims will make
millions of volumes accessible to all but which has critics crying
antitrust issues. Google’s books project has run into opposition from a
number of groups, including Consumer Watchdog, arguing that it gives the search engine company too
much control over content with little oversight.

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News Clipping

Two consumer groups are seeking to throw a roadblock in front
of President Obama’s pending appointment of Google’s top global public
policy official, arguing that it would violate Obama’s ethics rules
aimed at eliminating the influence of lobbyists on the federal
government.

John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog, said
McLaughlin is good at what he does – "lobbying around the world for
Google’s interests," he said. "That’s not what this job requires. It
should not go to any person whose most recent position has been
advocating policy for a technology company," he said.

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