Tag Archive | "Wi-Spy"
The Cost of Lost Privacy: How Google and Datamining Drive Economic Inequality in Our Nation
Why has economic inequality increased so radically in the United States over the last generation? General explanations range from globalization to the decline in trade unions to rising returns to education — and therefore the loss of income to the less educated. These all no doubt play a role but in an age of information, […]
Continue reading...Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to Testify Before Congress on Wi-Spy Scandal
Monday, July 11, 2011
John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project commented on the news, "A top Google executive will finally face serious questioning about the company's behavior."
Continue reading...Google And The White House Too Chummy While Firm Under Investigation, Consumer Group Says
Friday, July 8, 2011
A leading California consumer group has formally asked White House counsel to rule on the ethics of what it calls the Obama Administration's "inappropriate" outreach -- including State Dinner invites -- to head honchos of Google, a firm reportedly under criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
Continue reading...U.S. Lawmakers Frustrated By Lack Of Answers About Google Street View Wi-spying
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
In January, Consumer Watchdog released a report that detailed the range of the federal government’s current contracts with Google. The amount of cash the group found is only $40 million, a tiny amount compared to Google’s annual revenue of almost $30 billion. But the contracts give the company a competitive edge in key emerging markets, as well as highlight the deepening relationship between Google and the Obama administration — and the conflicts of interest that could potentially arise.
Continue reading...ENGINE KNOCK – Feds launch antitrust probe into Google’s market influence
Friday, June 24, 2011
Google “pretty clearly is using its dominant position to its own advantage,” said John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy organization that has called for an investigation into Google’s practices for the past two years.
Continue reading...W.H. Warned To Distance From Google
Friday, June 24, 2011
Consumer Watchdog is telling the White House that its cozy relationship with Google is inappropriate, given ongoing reviews by both the FTC and the Department of Justice.
Continue reading...Google’s Top Execs Refuse To Testify At Senate Hearing
Friday, June 24, 2011
Consumer Watchdog has been clamoring for Schmidt's sworn testimony before Congress for over a year, ever since Germany caught Google harvesting private Wi-Fi data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks in homes and businesses across the globe. Google had dispatched fleets of specially equipped cars through city streets in 30-plus nations to gather this data.
Continue reading...Smartphones Like Apple’s iPhone Hold Treasure Trove of Data on Users’ Lives
Friday, April 22, 2011
"These aren't smartphones -- they are spy phones," said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project. "Consumers must have the right to control whether their data is gathered and how it is used. People don't realize the absolute gold mine of data about their life that exists inside their smartphone," he added. "There really needs to be an educational process started so that people will begin to understand that."
Continue reading...France Fines Google Over Wi-Spy
Monday, March 21, 2011
France's privacy watchdog has just fined Google 100,000 euros ($142,000) as a result of the Internet giant's Wi-Spy activities. It may not be a lot to a company whose worldwide annual sales are around $25 billion a year, but it's the biggest fine the regulator has issued.
Continue reading...‘Doodle 4 Google’ Gaffe Suggests Company Did Not Live Up To Privacy Commitments Made To End Wi-Spy Probe Consumer Watchdog Tells FTC
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC — Google’s latest privacy breach, gathering children’s social security information on a contest entry form, suggests that the Internet giant did not live up to commitments that prompted the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection to end its inquiry into the Wi-Spy incident, Consumer Watchdog said today.
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Friday, July 15, 2011
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