Press Release
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today demanded that the Federal Communications Commission release an uncensored version of its highly redacted decision to fine Google $25,000 for deliberately impeding and delaying its investigation of the Wi-Spy scandal.
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“Google claims that it’s attempting to streamline its policies — in fact, it’s about building even more detailed digital dossiers about the people who use Google services so that Google will get more ad revenue.,” says John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project, a California-based non-profit organization.“
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Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson points out that personalized advertisements targeted directly to a specific user, based on user-collected information, can be “a substantial amount” more lucrative than just an anonymous ad. And with all the information Google can collect about your interests from your searches, your Google Docs, and your favorite YouTube videos, they can figure out pretty specifically what ads they should show you. “They are positioning this as streamlining privacy,” Simpson says. “But that’s just PR. It’s all about better targeting for advertisers.”
Press Release
Washington, DC – Consumer Watchdog today took Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to task today over remarks made to The Washington Post in which he claimed Google should not be the subject of antitrust review because its services are “free” and made derogatory remarks about government officials being slow, backward and greedy.
Blog Post
More examples of Google’s powerful grip on the Internet surfaced this week and its acquisition of the venerable restaurant reviewer, Zagat, raised new concern about how the Internet giant will use its monopoly power in…
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Why has economic inequality increased so radically in the United States over the last generation? General explanations range from globalization to the decline in trade unions to rising returns to education — and therefore the…
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John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project commented on the news, “A top Google executive will finally face serious questioning about the company’s behavior.”
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A leading California consumer group has formally asked White House counsel to rule on the ethics of what it calls the Obama Administration’s “inappropriate” outreach — including State Dinner invites — to head honchos of Google, a firm reportedly under criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
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Google “pretty clearly is using its dominant position to its own advantage,” said John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy organization that has called for an investigation into Google’s practices for the past two years.
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Consumer Watchdog is telling the White House that its cozy relationship with Google is inappropriate, given ongoing reviews by both the FTC and the Department of Justice.
