Tag Archive | "Washington DC"
FTC wrong to end Wi-Spy probe — public entitled to full account of abuses
SANTA MONICA, CA -- The Federal Trade Commission’s two-page letter ending its probe of the Google Wi-Spy scandal is premature and wrong, Consumer Watchdog said today, and leaves the American public with no official full account of the Internet giant’s repeated invasions of consumer privacy.
Continue reading...A Reassured F.T.C. Ends Google Street View Inquiry
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group, called the F.T.C.’s decision “premature and wrong. Once again, Google, with its myriad of government connections, gets a free pass,” John M. Simpson, director of the group’s Inside Google Project, said in a statement.
Continue reading...Google’s PAC joins Republican bandwagon
Friday, October 22, 2010
In a move that's either deeply pragmatic or deeply cynical, Silicon Valley's most openly pro-Democratic company shifted course this fall and gave more than half its political action committee donations to Republicans. Google Inc. NetPAC gave Republicans $57,500 between July and October, the group's filing this week with the Federal Election Committee shows. That's 55% of the $105,000 total contributions; Democrats received $47,500 or 45%.
Continue reading...Google increases spending on lobbying to $1.2 million
Thursday, October 21, 2010
SANTA MONICA, CA — Google increased its spending on lobbying 11 percent over the previous year to $1.2 million in the third quarter demonstrating the Internet giant’s willingness to spend to shape federal policy, Consumer Watchdog said today. In the comparable quarter a year ago Google spent $1.08 million. A key to Google’s lobbying effort is its well-connected Washington staff, the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group said.
Continue reading...FTC chair raises “Do Not Track Me” idea; Congressional support grows
Friday, October 8, 2010
Support for Do Not Track Me legislation is growing in Washington with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission telling ABC's Good Morning America on Friday that "one of the things we are thinking about is a Do Not Track List."
Continue reading...Google Called Chicken for Dodging Privacy Debate
Thursday, September 30, 2010
The advocacy group Consumer Watchdog is broadcasting Jumbotron video ads all this week in the heart of New York's Times Square to mock Google as a big chicken for dodging a privacy debate.
Continue reading...New Times Square ad targets Google for failure to debate privacy
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog has placed a digital advertisement in Times Square calling Internet giant Google “chicken” for its failure to accept the public interest group’s challenge to debate measures to protect consumers’ online privacy. The ad is running during "AdWeek" in New York City, at which Google has a major presence.
Continue reading...Promise of ad industry self-regulation falls flat
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
I was at Google's DC headquarters yesterday afternoon for the first event of AdWeek 2010 - the advertising industry's annual conference in DC. I don't know if one company always dominates the event, but this year seems to be an all-Google affair. As the only advertiser that's a "platinum sponsor," Google hosted, sat on, or was the topic of five panels -- more indication that Google is king in the online ad world.
Continue reading...Dear Google: Do Not Track Me
Friday, September 17, 2010
“That’s kind of a fundamental human right,” argued John Simpson, an advocate with Consumer Watchdog. “The books that people have been taking out of the library are not something that’s shared, and librarians have fought to maintain that. Generally, you can’t go in and say, ‘What’s my wife been reading on her library card? What’s my son been reading on our library card?’ It’s private. In the same way, the Internet is a great source of information, and people ought to be able to consider that their activity online is private in the same way. The fact of the matter is that it’s not right now."
Continue reading...Google engineer’s privacy problems should spur Internet giant to answer four key questions about users’ privacy, Consumer Watchdog says
Thursday, September 16, 2010
SANTA MONICA, CA -- The consumer group that recently launched a popular online animated satire of Google’s privacy problems embodied in an ice cream truck said the revelation that a Google engineer tracked children down shows that private information is never safe if it is in Google’s hands. Consumer Watchdog called on Google to publicly answer some basic questions about how effectively it protects consumers’ privacy.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010
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