Inside Google

Google’s European troubles and one good thing about the Italian case

John M. Simpson

Google has taken a one-two punch to the chin this week from Europe first with the news that the European Commission is probing the Internet giant for possible antitrust violations followed by the conviction of three top executives for invasion of...

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Google updates Buzz social-networking service amid privacy concerns

Jessica Guynn

The Internet giant has tweaked the sign-up process to make the opt-out option clearer and made it easier to block people from following users. "Google shows continued tone deafness to the very important privacy rights of consumers," John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog said.

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Google’s Buzz will give Internet giant even more data

John M. Simpson

Google launched its much anticipated social networking service, Buzz, today aimed a competing with sites like Facebook and Twitter....

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News Clipping

Google search ad, what dat?

By John M. Simpson

Super Bowl XLIV wasn't only a first for the New Orleans Saints, it was also a landmark for Internet giant, Google.  The company actually bought an ad, one that ironically reveals exactly the privacy issues raised by the company that consumers should worry about.

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Google Finally Improves Security Of Gmail Connections As Consumer Watchdog Urged

John M. Simpson

Santa Monica, CA --  In the wake of cyber attacks from China Google has announced it will improve security for consumers connecting to its Gmail service over the Internet by encrypting data traveling to its servers, a move Consumer Watchdog called on the Internet giant to make more than a year ago.

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Smart Phone Apps Can Find You, Follow You

James Temple

The Center for Digital Democracy and U.S. Public Interest Research Group filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission last January, arguing that people should be asked for their consent before their information can be collected and used for mobile advertising. The Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog have urged the FTC to reject Google's acquisition of AdMob, citing both competitive and privacy concerns.

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Can Google Be Trusted? No: The Search Engine Must Do More To Protect Private Data

John M. Simpson

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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What Google Dashboard Knows About You

Heidi Collins Josh Levs

Dashboard lets you get rid of some information on there. Google says part of the goal here is to stop the theory about what Google knows and doesn't know about you, to provide transparency. But there are some privacy advocates who say this is still this is not enough. For example, one group called Consumer Watchdog put out this statement saying, "If Google really wanted to give users control of their privacy, it would give consumers the ability to be anonymous from the company and advertisers in crucial areas like search data and online behavior." And you can see the statement right there.

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Mixed Reviews For Google Dashboard

Andrew Noyes

Google launched an application Thursday that allows users to see what data is stored in their accounts, but at least one group says the effort doesn't go far enough. The Google Dashboard is "designed to be simple and useful" and summarizes data for a range of products from e-mail and calendar applications to social networking and video sharing platforms. Consumer Watchdog, a group that has repeatedly thrashed Google for its advertising and privacy protection practices, said the Internet giant should let users opt out of tracking and delete information associated with their computer's IP address from Google's servers.

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Google To Unveil New Privacy Controls

James Temple

Google Inc. will announce a feature tomorrow that will give users more control over their online privacy, according to a consumer advocate who discussed the matter with the company. John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog hasn't reviewed Google Dashboard yet, because he refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement. But attorneys for the Mountain View search giant informed him the new feature would be unveiled on Thursday, he told The Chronicle.

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