Press Release
Control of New Strings Could Threaten Free Internet
WASHINGTON, DC – Consumer Watchdog today urged Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D –W.VA) to block attempts by Google and Amazon to buy control of huge swaths of the Internet by purchasing new generic Top Level Domains through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
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“It hasn’t been clear yet exactly what it means,” says Consumer Watchdog consumer advocate John Simpson. “The advertising industry, I think, would have it mean that they’re not going to target you with behavioral-based advertising. Many of us who are concerned about privacy understand that if you send a Do Not Track message, then your data should not be collected [at all].”
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A consumer advocacy organization warns that the cars could do more than that, collecting personal information that could be shared with others, and is asking for a gubernatorial veto of the bill approving them, which was passed by the state legislature in August. “The California autonomous car legislation does not provide adequate privacy protection,” says Consumer Watchdog spokesperson John Simpson. “Data should be gathered and retained only as long as necessary to operate the vehicle. The consumer must opt in if it is used for any other purpose.”
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Autonomous cars are a hot topic of conversation nowadays. Fans of the status quo see them as a waste of time. Driving enthusiasts see them as the harbinger of a boring, 55 mph future. And politicians see them as high-tech boogeymen to scare seniors into voting booths. (NB: that tactic didn’t work.) Now, another group voiced its criticism — specifically against Google’s autonomous car: the aptly but obviously named Consumer Watchdog group, based in Santa Monica, California.
Press Release
Public Interest Group Terms Privacy Protections For New Technology Insufficient
SANTA MONICA, CA – California Gov. Jerry Brown should veto a bill that allows Google’s driverless cars on the highway because it does not provide adequate privacy protections for users of the new technology, Consumer Watchdog said today.
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John Simpson is a former executive editor at Tribune Media and deputy editor of USA Today, now heading up Consumer Watchdog’s Inside Google project that focuses on the company’s dominance over the Internet. “We are not Google’s customers,” says Simpson. “We’re Google’s product. We use their services, that are now all combined, creating a digital dossier on us that becomes the real product offered to advertisers.”
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A federal judge has allowed a public interest group to challenge a $22.5 million fine Google agreed to pay earlier this month to settle allegations that it violated a consent decree it reached last year with the Federal Trade Commission related to violations of its privacy policies.
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A public interest group won the right to oppose a $22.5 million consumer lawsuit settlement between the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Google Inc. over a privacy breach of Apple Inc.’s Safari browser.
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Opposition to Google’s $22.5m privacy blunder settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission is heating up: lobby group Consumer Watchdog confirmed today it has won the right to file a brief against the deal.
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A federal judge returned with a brief order on Tuesday that allows Consumer Watchdog to oppose Google’s $22.5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
