Tag Archive | "Privacy"
Will Congress let consumers say no to online tracking?
A House subcommittee held its last hearing of the 111th Congress yesterday to talk about whether legislation creating a “Do Not Track Me” mechanism is needed to protect consumers’ privacy on the internet.
Continue reading...Facebook, Google Behavioral Ads Will Survive FTC’s Proposed “Do Not Call” Registry for the Web
Thursday, December 2, 2010
At a Consumer Watchdog event Wednesday, the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection proposed a new "Do Not Track" tool to curb privacy concerns over behaviorial advertising. The tool would be akin to the "Do Not Call" registry created in the early aughts which enabled the public to block the surging (and annoying) amount of telemarketers, Politico reports [1]. "Do Not Track" would work within browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox, but would require an act of Congress to pass.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Says Congress Must Act Now On “Do Not Track Me”
Thursday, December 2, 2010
WASHINGTON DC — The Federal Trade Commission repeated its support today for a “Do Not Track Me” mechanism to protect consumer online privacy and Consumer Watchdog called on Congress to pass legislation necessary to implement the safeguard.
Continue reading...FTC Official Says Agency Is Monitoring Google’s Practices
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
"You may well see something soon from the U.S. agencies, but I can't promise anything," said Melanie Sabo, Assistant Director for Anticompetitive Practices at the FTC's Bureau of Competition. Speaking at a Consumer Watchdog conference called "The Future of Online Consumer Protection," Sabo said her comments reflect her own views and not those of the FTC. The conference, held in Washington, D.C., was webcast over the Internet.
Continue reading...Reback Rehearses for the Case Against Google
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Gary Reback, an attorney with Carr & Ferrell and a prominent figure in the antitrust trials involving Microsoft, told attendees at Consumer Watchdog's Future of Online Consumer Protections conference here that the European case, built off complaints by a comparison shopping engine, could demonstrate that Google has improperly penalized specialty search engines in its quest to maintain its leading search engine market share. The refrain is a familiar one among Google critics: that Google's Universal Search unfairly promotes its own content over that of competitors.
Continue reading...FTC to Release ‘Do Not Track’ Report on Web Privacy
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
David Vladeck, head of the bureau of consumer protection at the FTC, told attendees at Consumer Watchdog's Future of Online Consumer Protections conference that the agency plans to release the report later this morning that will lay bare the FTC's commitment to giving U.S. consumers greater choice when it comes to opting out of online tracking. Vladeck declined to get into specifics for fear of upstaging his boss later in the day, but said "we need to reduce the burden on consumers" to monitor how companies are tracking their activities on the Internet for advertising purposes.
Continue reading...FTC Endorses “Do Not Track Me,” Calls For A New Privacy Framework
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
If you wonder if you are being followed online and if anything can be done about it, take a look at the just-out Federal Trade Commission report on online privacy. A frightening amount of information is available about us online and the Federal Trade Commission has endorsed the notion of a “privacy by design” build-in for […]
Continue reading...LIVE BLOG: Do Not Track, The Browser Solution
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
In the first session of CW conference on online consumer protection, panelist Chris Soghoian, a privacy technologist, identified one key to the success of “Do Not Track” legislation: a browser-based solution. “Remember almost all browsers are supported by ad networks,” Soghoian reminded the audience at the National Press Club. “Internet Explorer was created by Microsoft […]
Continue reading...LIVE BLOG: Notes on David Vladeck’s preview of the FTC report on online privacy
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The FTC missed its deadline for posting its online privacy report online due to "technical problems"… Anti-trust panel going strong. Watch live here http://www.visualwebcaster.com/consumerwatchdog We had the first words on the report earlier at Consumer Watchdog's conference on the future of online consumer protection. Report just came online about an hour late, a […]
Continue reading...Microsoft’s Old Nemesis, Gary Reback, to Address Antitrust Probe of Google
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Last April, Consumer Watchdog published this report, titled Traffic Report: How Google Is Squeezing Out Competitors and Muscling Into New Markets. The group formally asked the Justice Department to launch an antitrust probe of the search giant. But the European Commission beat their U.S. counterparts to the punch. "I welcome the European action, but Google is a U.S. Company and it's long past time for our authorities to launch an investigation," says Consumer Watchdog spokesman John Simpson.
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Friday, December 3, 2010
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