Blog Post
A poll by Consumer Watchdog found that 90 percent of Americans want legislation to protect their online privacy, and 80 percent support a Do Not Track mechanism. Another 86 percent want a single-click button on their browsers that makes them anonymous when they search online.
Blog Post
Nobody can doubt the pervasive influence Google has in our daily lives. For most people the Internet giant has become the primary gateway to the Web. No doubt many of its services are useful, but what is the real impact of a company whose audacious mission is ” to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful?” Scott Cleland has been doing some serious thinking about Google. His book, “Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc,” is the result.
News Clipping
The bills announced Friday give new impetus to allowing consumers to request they not be tracked, said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog. “Demand for ‘do not track’ protection is swelling, and that makes sense,” he said. “This is an idea whose time has come, and I believe people will finally get the protection they are demanding.”
News Clipping
Still, it’s the first time such a bill has made it out of committee, and that’s a big deal, according to John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project. “This is the first time that a ‘do not track’ bill has actually had a hearing and been debated and then voted forward in the legislative process,” he said.
News Clipping
“A Do Not Track mechanism would give consumers better control of their information and help restore their confidence in the internet,” Jamie Court, Consumer Watchdog’s president, said in a written statement after the committee action. “That’s a win-win for consumers and business.”
News Clipping
Why should iPhone and Android users have to worry about being spied on by their smart phones? Shouldn’t we be able to say no to some of California’s biggest companies, Google and Facebook, when they violate our privacy daily by tracking us online and collecting massive amounts of our private information without our explicit consent?
Press Release
SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today said Google used deceptive and unfair trade practices in marketing its “cloud computing” services to government entities and asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate.
News Clipping
Consumer Watchdog said in its statement that the problem with do-not-track at the browser level is that there’s no requirement on the web site to honor the do-not-track request.
News Clipping
The measure (SB 761), introduced last month by California Sen. Alan Lowenthal, requires the state attorney general to issue regulations that would require Web companies to notify state residents about online data collection and allow them to opt out. The bill, sponsored by Consumer Watchdog, applies not only to so-called personally identifiable information like users’ names, but also to unique identifiers, such as customer numbers of IP addresses.
Press Release
SACRAMENTO, CA – For the first time in American history a privacy proposal to give people the right to stop collection of their personal information online has passed a legislative committee.
