Archive | Tag: litigation

Press Release

SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog praised the U.S. Justice
Department for objecting to the proposed Google Books settlement in a
brief the department filed in U.S. District Court tonight. The nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer group had asked the Justice
Department to intervene in the case on antitrust grounds last April.
Justice announced it was investigating in July. Justice’s objections
tonight went beyond antitrust concerns.

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News Clipping

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.

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Press Release

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.

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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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News Clipping

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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News Clipping

The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed on Thursday that it is
investigating a settlement involving Google Book Search for possible
antitrust violations, following months of speculation that the agency
had its eye on the service. Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit group,
argues that the proposal gives Google special protections against
lawsuits over the orphan works. Those special protections would
discourage potential Google competitors from entering the digital book
business unless they could negotiate a similar protection, the group
argues. Consumer Watchdog has urged the DOJ to examine the settlement.

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News Clipping

In-your-face watchdog gets advice from Microsoft ‘people,’ interest from Verizon

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Google Inc. has attracted a number of
critics over the years, but the Internet search giant hasn’t yet had to
deal with any as jarringly adversarial as Consumer Watchdog. "Their tactics tend to be more confrontational than others’," said Tim
Little, executive director of the Rose Foundation, an Oakland,
Calif.-based organization that funds Consumer Watchdog. "But sometimes
there’s a place for folks being confrontational."

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