Inside Google

WASHINGTON, DC – Google and Facebook continued pumping record amounts of money into their lobbying efforts during the second quarter to influence federal lawmakers and regulators, according to lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.

John M. Simpson, who is the lead Google researcher at Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, California, indicated he is skeptical of Google’s continued claims of innocence, “When they get caught with their fingers in the cookie jar doing something they clearly should not be doing, they say, ‘Oops, it was completely by accident.’”

Despite Google’s protestations of innocence, or at least ignorance, consumer advocate organizations including Consumer Watchdog decried Google’s behavior and filed suit with the FTC. Needless to say, they are delighted about the reports of an impending settlement. “This is a wanton violation on Google’s part,” John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project director, told the E-Commerce Times, brushing aside the company’s claims the tracking was accidental. “What made it even worse is that they lied to users about what they were doing,” he added. “Google told people they were honoring the Safari browser settings.”

Google officials have called the use of tracking cookies an accident caused by technical glitches that have been corrected. Privacy advocates have scoffed at those explanations. “When they get caught with their fingers in the cookie jar doing something they clearly should not be doing, they say, ‘Oops, it was completely by accident,’ ” said John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, based in Santa Monica, Calif., and one of several groups to file complaints about Google’s alleged tracking on Apple browsers.

The FTC’s proposed fine was applauded by Consumer Watchdog, a frequent critic of Google’s privacy practices. The penalty “sends a strong message about the seriousness of Google’s wanton and egregious privacy violation,” said John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project.

Group Complained to Commission After Grad Student Discovered iPads, iPhones Were Hacked

SANTA MNICA, CA – The Federal Trade Commission reportedly plans to fine Google $22.5 million for hacking around privacy settings on iPhones and iPads that use Apple’s Safari browser. Consumer Watchdog praised the Commission today for its expected strong action defending consumer privacy.

The application of constitutional protections in the digital world is far from clear, in many cases, but law enforcement agencies aren’t waiting for permission to access data — they’re bombarding providers with requests for information. “It is an outrageous intrusion on users’ privacy and potentially troublesome in terms of our eroding constitutional rights,” said Consumer Watchdog’s John M. Simpson.

What do autonomous cars driven by robots like those Google is developing have to do with your privacy? If the answer is nothing, then why won’t Google and the author of a bill to allow them on California highways accept an amendment requiring that the new technology collect only data necessary for the operation of the vehicle and no other purpose?

Google Now. A feature in Jelly Bean that may raise questions for privacy advocates, Google Now uses search history, location and the calendar to alert users about pertinent information, including events, places of interest, faster travel routes and sports scores for favorite teams. “It’s Google looking closer and closer over your shoulder,” says John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog.

Online advertisers and privacy advocates generally agree that Do Not Track options should be available on Web browsers. However, there’s much debate about whether DNT should be opt-in or opt-out. “The privacy-friendly thing is to have DNT on by default,” said Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson. But advertisers say turning on DNT by default would essentially deprive consumers of choice.