Tag Archive | "legislation"
Lawmakers Created Google Settlement Mess, But Some Urge Staying Out Of It
By failing to pass orphan works legislation in previous sessions, Congress practically guaranteed a messy settlement would result from Google's scanning and display of millions of out-of-print works found only in libraries, several lawmakers said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday. Consumer Watchdog's John M. Simpson, perhaps Google's most vocal nonprofit critic in Washington, said the settlement "simply furthers the relatively narrow agenda" of Google, the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers. Congress should pass orphan-works or fair-use legislation, so Google won't get an "unprecedented monopolistic advantage" over some books.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Backs Digital Libraries, Opposes Google Books Settlement Deal
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Testimony Says Deal Violates Law, Is Anti-Competitive And Raises Privacy Concerns WASHINGTON, DC -- The proposed Google Books settlement should be rejected because it is anticompetitive, violates both U.S. and international law and raises substantial threats to privacy, Consumer Watchdog’s John M. Simpson told the House Judiciary Committee today.
Continue reading...Consumer Advocacy Groups Call For Internet Privacy Protections
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
A group of 10 consumer advocacy groups, including the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America, has called on the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to protect consumer privacy amid the growing use of Internet technology that tracks consumers’ online behavior. A bill is expected to be submitted this fall in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Urges Court To Reject Google Books Deal, Calls New Privacy Policy Inadequate
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
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.
Continue reading...Privacy Groups Put Proposals To Congress
Thursday, September 3, 2009
As Congress considers new privacy legislation, consumer and privacy groups have put forward their proposals for limiting online data collection. A coalition of groups including the Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Watchdog and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted its views to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Continue reading...Consumer Groups Slam Behavioral Tracking
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
A group of ten consumer groups on Tuesday called on Congress to enact meaningful privacy legislation, and slammed industry efforts as totally inadequate. The groups are most concerned about behavioral tracking, a technique used by Internet companies to serve up more targeted ads or results based on your Web browsing activities. Are you searching for information on Paris? You might see ads on the right-hand bar for travel deals or hotels, or links to blog posts about the French city.
Continue reading...Consumer Advocates Ask For FTC’s Help in Curbing Behavioral Targeting Tactics
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft employ behavioral targeting, in which cookies collect information on users' Web browsing habits, to better tailor online ad campaigns for Web surfing consumers. This practice doesn't sit well with consumer and privacy advocates, which urged Congress to crack down on behavioral targeting and asked the Federal Trade Commission to set up a registry to help users opt out of such practices.
Continue reading...Privacy Group Coalition Urges Data Regulation
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Ten consumer and privacy groups are urging Congress to limit the way online information can be used for advertising and profiling. A coalition of ten consumer and privacy groups on Tuesday urged Congress to draft new legislation to preserve consumer privacy online by limiting behavioral advertising and establishing new ground rules for information collection and use.
Continue reading...Privacy Groups Send E-Commerce Recommendations To Capitol
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Privacy advocates are gearing up to push for broad electronic privacy legislation this fall, hoping to convince lawmakers that businesses' self-regulation techniques are inadequate. The groups also say Internet companies' efforts don't go far enough. "Self regulation does not work. We've seen it in capital markets. We've seen it online," said Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson.
Continue reading...Curbs Urged For Behavioral Ads
Monday, August 31, 2009
A powerful alliance of privacy and consumer groups have likened behavioral advertising to "being followed by an invisible stalker." "An individual’s data belongs to them and before these companies track you all over the internet, they need to be transparent about what they are doing and how they intend to use that information," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog.
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Friday, September 11, 2009
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