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Few doubt that Internet giant Google is succeeding in its audacious
corporate mission "to organize the world’s information and make it
universally accessible and useful." The problem is that the mission
puts Google directly at odds with our privacy rights, and Google
appears unwilling to give consumers enough control.
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In a letter last week to City Councilman Bernard C. Parks, John Simpson
of advocacy group Consumer Watchdog noted the stark language Google
uses to describe the many things that could go wrong with its
cloud-based systems.
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If Apple and Google were hoping that a Schmidt-ectomy
would satisfy the FTC’s concerns over their board-level connections,
they were wrong. While the agency pronounced itself…
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John Simpson at the Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit organisation,
has applauded Mr. Schmidt’s move but at the same time criticised the
"clubby atmosphere" that prevails in Silicon Valley where everyone
seems to be on one another’s board.
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The resignation of Google’s Eric Schmidt as a director of Apple’s board
has failed to halt a government inquiry into possible antitrust
violations.
Mr. Schmidt stepped down because the search giant’s business increasingly competes with Apple’s. Former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson still serves on both boards. Consumer Watchdog has called for him to step down from either Google or Apple to avoid antitrust violations.
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Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s resignation today from Apple’s board underscored that it when comes to business, competition is thicker than friendship. Meanwhile, a consumer group, Consumer Watchdog, on Monday called on
Genentech Board Chairman Arthur Levinson, who sits on the boards of
Google and Apple, to quit one of them to avoid antitrust violations. In addition to conflicts that could arise from sitting on the boards of
competing companies, Genentech is an investor with Google in the
genetic testing company 23andMe run by Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google
co-founder Sergey Brin.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will
continue to investigate the relationship between the boards of Apple
Inc. and Google Inc., after Google’s chief, Eric Schmidt, quit Apple’s board on Monday. A consumer rights group criticized Schmidt for taking too long to leave
Apple’s board, and called on former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson to choose either Apple or Google. "Nonetheless, we’re glad Schmidt finally did the right thing," Consumer
Watchdog said in a statement. "We call on Levinson to act responsibly
and choose one company or the other."
Press Release
Santa Monica, CA — Genentech Board Chairman Arthur D. Levinson should
quit as a director of either Internet giant Google or Apple to avoid
antitrust violations, Consumer Watchdog said today, following the
resignation of Eric Schmidt from the Apple board. The call from the nonprofit, nonpartisan consumer group came after the
announcement that Google Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, who
held the same dual role, was stepping down from Apple’s board. The
Federal Trade Commission has been investigating for several months
whether Apple and Google had violated antitrust laws by sharing two
directors.
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Microsoft and Yahoo finally tied the knot, but they signed an expansive pre-nup to limit antitrust scrutiny. Vocal Google critic Consumer Watchdog didn’t denounce the deal
outright, noting that "some have suggested" that the tie-up may
increase competition against Google. But the Microsoft-Yahoo deal is a
chance for regulators to "set to the gold standard for privacy
guarantees by Internet companies and for the government to use its
leverage to obtain it," it said. Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson said
the FTC should take a strong lead on privacy matters. "If the result of
this deal is that there are two stronger Internet search enterprises
who exploit users’ data at the expense of their privacy rights,
consumers are worse off, not better," he said. "Justice and the FTC can
— and must — insist on this."
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John Simpson, an advocate with non-profit group Consumer Watchdog, also
said the Microhoo deal must be closely scrutinized by the Federal Trade
Commission, the Justice Department and the European Commission to
ensure that there are no antitrust violations and that user privacy is
guaranteed. "If the result of this deal is that there are two stronger Internet
search enterprises who exploit users’ data at the expense of their
privacy rights, consumers are worse off, not better," said Simpson.
"Users must have control of their data—whether it is collected and how
it is used. Guarantees of that control must be in place before this
deal is approved. Justice and the FTC can—and must—insist on this."
