Blog Post
I spent all afternoon Monday waiting at the LA City Council Budget Committee to give the Council members my two minutes on why Google’s proposal to put the City’s computing into its cloud could be dangerous. In a nutshell: Security,…
News Clipping
The U.S. Department of Justice has come out against the proposed
agreement to settle copyright lawsuits that authors and major
publishers filed against Google over the search company’s book search
program. Consumer Watchdog, a
consumer protection organization that earlier this year urged the DOJ
to get involved, filed a 30-page document opposing the agreement,
saying it will "strip rights from millions of absent class members,
worldwide, in violation of national and international copyright law,
for the sole benefit of Google. There should be a competitive book-search market, while the U.S.
Congress must solve the orphan works problem. The parties simply cannot justify this ‘solution’ which does not
adequately protect the Rightsholders and unfairly benefits a single
party," reads the Consumer Watchdog statement.
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC — Any plan offered by Google meant to overcome
objections to the proposed Google Books settlement must include a
“binding agreement with the full force of law,” Consumer Watchdog told
the U.S. Justice Department today. Justice has until Friday to file
its position on the books settlement with the court.
News Clipping
The Federal Trade Commission says it will keep investigating the board memberships of Apple and Google despite Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s withdrawal from Apple’s board. Another boardroom interlock remains for the two companies: Genentech Chairman Arthur Levinson is on the board in both Mountain View and Cupertino. An E-Commerce Times request for response from Genentech regarding
Consumer Watchdog’s call for Levinson to step down from either Google’s
or Apple’s board was not received by press time. One point mentioned by Consumer Watchdog’s Simpson was Genetech’s
investment in 23andMe, the genetic-testing-for-consumers company
founded by Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google cofounder Sergey Brin.
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.
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.
News Clipping
In-your-face watchdog gets advice from Microsoft ‘people,’ interest from Verizon
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Google Inc. has attracted a number of
critics over the years, but the Internet search giant hasn’t yet had to
deal with any as jarringly adversarial as Consumer Watchdog. "Their tactics tend to be more confrontational than others’," said Tim
Little, executive director of the Rose Foundation, an Oakland,
Calif.-based organization that funds Consumer Watchdog. "But sometimes
there’s a place for folks being confrontational."
News Clipping
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Why is Google lobbying the US Congress over the webification of the nation’s health records? It won’t say. But lobbying it is. Consumer Watchdog is convinced that Google is lobbying for exclusion
from the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA), which provides privacy protections for America’s personal
health records. As it stands, the laws that govern what doctors can do
with a patient’s medical records do not apply to the Google Chocolate
Factory. If you upload your health records to Google, you have to
assume the company will always do the right thing.
News Clipping
According to first quarter federal reports, Google
participated in lobbying efforts aimed at allowing the sale of
electronic medical records in the economic stimulus legislation. This contradicts the Internet giant’s earlier response to Consumer
Watchdog, a California-based, non-profit consumer education and
advocacy organization, that their claims against Google were "100
percent false."
Press Release
Washington, DC — First quarter federal reports show Google lobbied on
the electronic medical records provisions of the federal economic
stimulus act, contradicting the Internet giant’s earlier claims that
Consumer Watchdog’s report of its effort was “100 percent false.”
