Archive | Tag: justice department

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NEW YORK, NY — Google confronted a barrage of criticism from opponents of its proposed digital book settlement Thursday as the Internet search giant tried to persuade a federal judge to approve a deal that would allow it to create the world’s largest online library. Some consumer groups warned Thursday that the company that preaches not to be evil could suffer from eroding trust. "They are part of this Silicon Valley culture which says ‘don’t ask for
permission because you can always ask for forgiveness,’ " said John
Simpson, head of the nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog. "The problem is
that they are starting now to be so big and so ambitious that some of
the things they are trying to do now are overreaching in a way that
will very likely tarnish their brand."

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In press releases this morning outlining their testimony, critics of the plan reiterated their opposition. “In essence Google’s latest arguments seem to boil down to this: ‘Our
motto is don’t be evil, so you can trust us to control the world’s
digital library,’ said John Simpson, with a group called Consumer
Watchdog which has criticized Google on privacy issues.

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Google seems to want Judge Chin to be the man making the decision, said John
Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, one of the opponents scheduled to speak
in court next week. "Google has decided it’s longer willing to negotiate with Justice on
this one," Simpson said. "They want to negotiate with the judge
instead."

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The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest February 4 saying that that despite “substantial progress”  it still had objections to the proposed settlement of lawsuits challenging Google’s Book Search project, noting that the agreement continued to raise copyright, antitrust, and class certification issues. Consumer Watchdog, which had filed a brief opposing the settlement, praised the Justice Department’s stance. “The Department of Justice should
be commended for standing firm in opposing this private deal that
unfairly benefits the narrow agenda of one company,” said John M.
Simpson, a consumer advocate with the nonprofit group. “The DOJ filing
and the outpouring of other briefs from around the world opposing the
amended settlement, such as the one filed by Consumer Watchdog, make it
almost certain Judge Denny Chin will reject the deal.”

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The Justice Department announced late Thursday that it still has problems with a proposed settlement between the publishing industry and Google over the firm’s plans for developing a global online library, CongressDaily reported. In a statement, the Open Book Alliance, which opposes the settlement,
applauded the Justice Department’s filing saying, it will "help to
preserve competition, promote innovation and protect the public
interest. The Department of Justice has made it crystal clear that the
proposal before the court is overreaching and cannot be approved." The
alliance members include Amazon.com, Microsoft and Yahoo, as well as
some library, writer and publishing groups. John Simpson with Consumer
Watchdog also praised the department in a statement for "standing firm
in opposing this private deal that unfairly benefits the narrow agenda
of one company" and predicted the court will reject it.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Changes that Google Inc and the Authors Guild made to an ambitious plan to create a massive online library were inadequate because they fail to address antitrust and copyright concerns, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Critics of the deal have been a varied group that includes Yahoo
Inc, Amazon Inc, Microsoft Inc, the National Writers Union and Consumer
Watchdog.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The U.S. Justice Department still thinks a proposal to give Google the digital rights to millions of hard-to-find books threatens to stifle competition and undermine copyright laws, despite revisions aimed at easing those concerns. Consumer Watchdog, one of the groups fighting the settlement, applauded
the Justice Department for taking a stand against a deal "that unfairly
benefits the narrow agenda of one company."

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News Clipping

Although the amended settlement agreement for Google’s Book Search addressed some concerns the U.S. Justice Department had, it still could give the company anticompetitive advantages in the digital book marketplace, the agency said on Thursday. The nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog praised the Justice Department’s stance. "The settlement still abuses the class-action mechanism and purports to
enroll absent class members automatically into new business
‘opportunities,’ in violation of current copyright laws," Consumer
Watchdog reiterated from its friend-of-the-court brief opposing the
agreement as modified.

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