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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.
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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.
Press Release
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.
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A pro-privacy group, Consumer Watchdog, says the “landmark” recommendations are a boon for anyone concerned about keeping personal information private. Consumer Watchdog, a longtime Google critic, pointed to Google’s decision to integrateGoogle+ information into search results as a sign that new regulations are necessary to protect consumers.
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“Once Google and Facebook are following European rules, there will be no way for the companies to justify the obviously inadequate protection in the U.S.,” John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a vocal Google critic, said in a statement. Google has come under fire after it said Tuesday that it plans to begin tracking users and collecting data about them as they move from one Google service to another.
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“They’ve decided to play the corrupt corporate cash and carry Washington (game) like many firms such as Microsoft have long done,” John Simpson, a consumer advocate for Consumer Watchdog, told CNET. “What sets them apart, though, is they still hold themselves out to be different from the rest.”
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Google’s spending caught the eye of its critics. The group Consumer Watchdog, which consistently targets Google, accused the company’s executives of having “no qualms about spending lots of money to get their way.”
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An American consumer advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog, wrote to Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, on 24 January, to ask him to ban Google’s proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobile (see separate article). “Google controls 95% of the mobile search market.
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Consumer Watchdog is one such organization that took umbrage to Google’s lobbying spend, which is up 88 percent from 2010. The consumer advocate said Google has abandoned its “Don’t Be Evil” roots by buying into “Washington’s corrupt “cash and carry” political system.
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Consumer Watchdog condemned the increased lobbying by web services. Google “has abandoned its idealistic ‘Don’t Be Evil’ roots and has bought into Washington’s corrupt ‘cash and carry’ political system,” the consumer group said. “Facebook, relatively new to the Washington lobbying scene, now appears headed down the same morally bankrupt path as Google,” Consumer Watchdog said. Facebook declined to respond. Google didn’t answer a request for comment.
