Consumer Watchdog today called on the state attorneys general to investigate Google’s WiSpy snooping in their respective states to determine what state laws were broken.
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The report drew mixed reactions yesterday. The nonprofit Consumer Watchdog organization dismissed it as hype based on "cooked accounting" that counts benefits, but doesn't consider the impact on some content providers and competitors who suffer from Google's "monopolistic control of search."
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Wednesday, May 26, 2010
John Simpson, a researcher for the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog who was the first to raise questions about McLaughlin's appointment to the White House, said Google's bumbling intellectual persona in Washington is just an act.
Continue reading...Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The announcement drew an immediate response from a nonprofit consumer-advocacy organization, Consumer Watchdog. The group said Google's motives in releasing the report were driven by "its attempts to quell worldwide outrage over the WiSpy scandal" and that this is "classic corporate PR spin to divert justified criticism."
Continue reading...Tuesday, May 25, 2010
At least one vocal critic of the company said the report overstates Google's contributions. The company didn't generate this economic activity so much as facilitate it, said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog. There were other businesses that connected companies with customers before Google was founded 12 years ago, and the report failed to take into account lost revenue and jobs within those industries, notably media and advertising, he said.
Continue reading...Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Consumer Watchdog said Google's economic report relies on cooked accounting that only counts benefits while factoring in none of the costs Google places on society.
Continue reading...Tuesday, May 25, 2010
“This is what every big corporation does when they are under fire,” said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with the nonpartisan, nonprofit group. “They divert attention from their wrongdoing and spin a story about their contributions.”
Continue reading...Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The data collection could extend to about 30 countries, said John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit group that has called on the Federal Trade Commission to probe Google's actions. Simpson said he has not heard of any state attorneys general taking up the matter yet, but a response by states is likely as people become more aware of the implications. He said there is mounting outrage against the company.
Continue reading...Tuesday, May 25, 2010
As the WiSpy scandal unfolded last week CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking in England, tried to calm the furor by claiming "no harm, no foul." This week it's clear that despite the fondest hopes of those in the Googleplex, the firestorm won't go away.
Continue reading...Monday, May 24, 2010
Several European countries' data privacy authorities have launched investigations into Google's actions. In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been asked to investigate Google by the consumer group Consumer Watchdog.
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Wednesday, May 26, 2010
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