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Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson said that Stearns’s effort “shows that protecting online privacy is a bipartisan issue that resonates on both sides of the aisle. Privacy may be one of the areas where Congress can get something done this session.”
Blog Post
It’s been a tough week for Google as it faced legal challenges from around the world, the most prominent being that Department of Justice antitrust staff is preparing for the possibility of a suit to block the Internet giant’s acquisition of ITA.
Blog Post
South Korean police said Thursday that Google broke the country’s privacy laws when its Street View cars gathered personal information from private Wi-Fi networks. Meanwhile, in the United States, a spokeswoman for Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen told me in a telephone call that the multi-state investigation into Wi-Spy is ongoing.
Blog Post
Federal Trade Chairman Jon Leibowitz, writing in U.S. News & World Report this week, offers one of the clearest explanations I’ve seen of why consumers need a Do Not Track Me function to protect their privacy as they surf the Web.
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In November advocacy groups Center for Digital Democracy, U.S. PIRG, Consumer Watchdog, and the World Privacy Forum filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over “unfair and deceptive” advertising and data gathering practices at online health information and service sites.
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“It is clear that we need some kind of ‘do not track’ legislation for smartphones as well as online,” John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog, told MacNewsWorld. This transmission of information was described as common in the Journal article, he noted — and consumers have no recourse.
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John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, who has criticized McLaughlin’s appointment from the start, wrote in a blog post: “It’s good he’s gone.”
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“We’re interested in the monopolistic power that Google has, how they are using it and whether it has disadvantaged consumers,” said John Simpson, a director at Consumer Watchdog.
Press Release
Santa Monica, CA — The Do Not Track Me function proposed in the Federal Trade Commission’s recently released online privacy report must be extended to include smartphones, Consumer Watchdog said today in the wake of a Wall Street Journal article showing how applications for the iPhone and Android phones widely share personal data without the users’ knowledge or consent.
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That answer isn’t satisfactory for privacy pundits such as Consumer Watchdog’s John M. Simpson. “Google’s refusal to give data gathered by its Street View cars from private WiFi networks to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal underscores the need for a Congressional hearing,” Simpson said. “What is Google hiding?
