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Others witnesses are likely to cast a more skeptical eye on the
agreement, including John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit
that has opposed the agreement; Randall Picker, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School who has raised antitrust concerns; and Marybeth Peters, the head of the United States Copyright Office, who has also raised questions about the deal.
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Consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog warned that "if the
settlement were approved, it would give Google a default monopoly to
books for which the rightsholders cannot be located, resulting in
unfair competitive advantages to Google in the search engine,
electronic book sales, and other markets."
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The Google Book Search Settlement has taken yet another twist: in a
last minute announcement, the House Judiciary Committee today posted
notice that it would hold a hearing on “The Competition and Commerce in
Digital Books” or, in other words, the Google Books Search Settlement, on Thursday, September 10th at 10am. With the hearing, the Google Book Search settlement has now hit the
trifecta—all three branches of government are involved: the Judiciary
is overseeing the settlement; the Executive, via the Department of
Justice, is looking at antitrust issues; and now Congress, which brings
the widest possible government scope from which to address potential
issues with book digitization.
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The National Writers Union and Consumer Watchdog were among those to
file briefs urging rejection as the Google Book Search Settlement
deadline officially passed this morning. Although the final lineup of
objectors won’t be known until all the last-minute briefs have been
processed by the court, the groups join DC Comics, The American Society
of Journalists and Authors, a coalition of some 58 authors and the Open
Book Alliance (which includes Google competitors Microsoft and
Amazon.com) in urging the court to reject the proposed settlement.
Press Release
Brief Argues Books Settlement Violates Both U.S. And International Copyright Law, Is Anticompetitive
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumer Watchdog today filed a brief urging a
federal court to reject the proposed Google Books settlement because it
is anticompetitive and violates both U.S. and international law.
Separately, the consumer group called a Books privacy policy Google
offered late last week inadequate.
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In recent months, two heavily detailed, annotated versions of
confidential Google slide presentations — one dealing with competition
issues, the other with behavioral targeting — have been published by a
Santa Monica–based group called Consumer Watchdog. The annotations are
highly critical of Google and seek to rebut the search giant’s
arguments.
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Three technology heavyweights are joining a coalition to fight Google’s
attempt to create what could be the world’s largest virtual library.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU of Northern California and
the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group wrote to Google to ask the company
to "assure Americans that Google will maintain the security and freedom
that library patrons have long had: to read and learn about anything…
without worrying that someone is looking over their shoulder or could
retrace their steps".
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The Author’s Guild has urged
members to go along with a lawsuit settlement that would allow Google
to digitize millions of books from libraries and make them available in
its Book Search service. A prominent literary and talent agency has urged just the opposite. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice
currently has the settlement under review for possible violations of
antitrust laws. A federal court has extended the deadline to Sept. 4
for authors and publishers to opt out of the proposed agreement. The court has been inundated with proposed changes to the settlement,
including one filed by a group of California professors who suggest the
settlement isn’t fair to academic writers. Several groups, including The Internet Archive and Consumer
Watchdog, have also raised concerns about the issue to the Justice
Department in what many consider the literary flap of the century.
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Three-Into-Two Doesn’t Wash
Consumer Watchdog noted the competitive search and advertising
landscape will deteriorate – not improve – if the result is two
enterprises that exploit users’ data at the expense of their privacy
rights. John Simpson, an advocate with the group, said the FTC and DoJ must
insist users retain control of their data, how it’s used, and where its
stored. "Users must have control of their data – whether it is collected and
how it is used. Guarantees of that control must be in place before this
deal is approved. Justice and the FTC can – and must – insist on this,"
he said in a statement.
Blog Post
Much of the focus on the proposed Google Books settlement has been on antitrust concerns….
