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Google’s close relationship with the Obama administration has allowed the search giant inappropriate benefits such as access to a NASA airfield and lowered scrutiny on its private practices, according to a new report from Consumer Watchdog.
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A new report by Consumer Watchdog accuses the Obama administration of having an inappropriately close relationship with Google, allowing the company to escape scrutiny.
Press Release
SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today sent Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) a 32-page report detailing how Google has inappropriately, benefited from its close ties to the Obama Administration, including how NASA’s Moffett Airfield, near Google’s world headquarters, has been turned into a taxpayer-subsidized private airport for Google executives used for corporate junkets.
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John Simpson, spokesman for non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, says Schmidt “has put his foot so far in his mouth, so frequently, about privacy that it got him kicked upstairs.” Adds Simpson: “Larry Page stepping in as CEO is a great step, if he remembers where he came from and what the company stood for when he co-founded it.”
Press Release
SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog today welcomed the announcement that Co-Founder Larry Page will become chief executive officer of the Internet giant and expressed optimism that the changes at the top mean Google will return to the values of its founders.
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Consumer Watchdog, an organization that has been critical of Google’s privacy policies and missteps, said it welcomes the CEO change. “Eric Schmidt has put his foot in his mouth so far on key issues like privacy that he’s kicked himself out of the CEO’s office,” said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s Inside Google Project, in a statement.
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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.”
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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.”
