Privacy

FTC: Google Did Not Break Antitrust Law With Search Practices

January 4, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Google emerged from nearly two years of intense federal scrutiny Thursday by convincing the Federal Trade Commission that even though rivals may suffer as the company continually refines its search engine, consumers often win through better, faster, more valuable answers to their queries.</p>

Google Emerges From FTC Probe Relatively Unscathed

January 3, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has settled a U.S. government probe into its business practices without making any major concessions on how the company runs its Internet search engine, the world's most influential gateway to digital information and commerce.</p> <p>Thursday's agreement with the Federal Trade Commission covers only some of the issues raised in a wide-ranging antitrust investigation that could have culminated in a regulatory crackdown that re-shapes Internet search, advertising and mobile computing.</p>

FTC Slaps Google’s Wrist in Search, Patent Probe

January 3, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Federal regulators concluded Thursday a 19-month probe into Google’s search and patent-licensing practices, and in the end took no action against Google’s search rankings that favor its own products over competitors.</p> <p>Still, in an accord with the Federal Trade Commission, Google made some concessions. Among other things, the search giant loosened its restrictions on its AdWords advertising platform that prevented advertisers from appearing on competing platforms.</p>

Relief for Google as US ends monopoly probe

January 3, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>WASHINGTON — US regulators closed a lengthy antitrust probe into Google on Thursday, saying there was not enough evidence to show the Internet giant manipulated its search results to harm its competitors.</p> <p>The Federal Trade Commission said it lacked a legal basis to bring a case against Google for allegedly abusing its dominance in Internet searches, but it won commitments from the tech titan to end its "most troubling" practices.</p>

Privacy Project Timeline

January 2, 2013  ·  John M. Simpson

Dec. 9, 2015 — Consumer Watchdog joins a coalition of 17 consumer and privacy groups in opposing the Data Security Act of 2015 because the...

Hours Away

December 31, 2012  ·  Daniel Palay

<p><a href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6563/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=4651"><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2565" alt="" height="226" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/images_donationcount-22_5k.gif" style="float: right;" width="155" /></a>With just a few hours left in 2012, we've almost reached our year-end fundraising goal and your last opportunity to make a tax-deductible gift this year.

The Cliff

December 30, 2012  ·  Jamie Court

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2561" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/images_jamiecourt_updated.jpg" style="width: 200px; float: right; height: 272px;" width="881" height="1200" />This is no Thelma and Louise moment. The US government is driving over a cliff and few American taxpayers have smiles on their faces.<br /> <br /> All eyes are on the Capitol now, so imagine what happens when no one is watching.<br /> <br /> With all the uncertainty in 2013, one thing is for sure: Consumer Watchdog will have your back when the politicians think no one is watching. Now we are asking you to get our back.<br /> <br />

Did The FTC Find Its Spine In Google Probe? We Need To Keep The Pressure On

December 20, 2012  ·  John M. Simpson

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2557" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/images_google-ftc-buzz.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px; float: right;" width="300" height="300" />Last weekend news broke that the <a data-mce-="" href="http://FTC.gov">Federal Trade Commission</a> was about to settle its two-year antitrust investigation of Google with what charitably could be termed a slight tap on the wrist. But by Tuesday night the reported holiday gift to the Internet giant was unraveling and the FTC signaled it would keep the investigation going into January.</p>

FTC’s New COPPA Rule Increases Online Protection For Kids, But Has Important Loopholes

December 19, 2012  ·  John M. Simpson

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2512" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/images_ftc-hq.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 100px; float: right;" width="100" height="100" />The Federal Trade Commission Wednesday <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/12/coppa.shtm">announced amendments</a> to the Children's Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) Rule that will give parents more control over the information online services and websites can collect about their kids.  It's the first change since COPPA was passed in 1998 and is meant to update the protections to a time when much of kids' online activity has moved to "apps" on tablets, s

Google and Tax: How To Los Friends And Alienate People

December 13, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p>In an interview given yesterday to Bloomberg in New York City, Eric Schmidt, the chairman of that famous "do no evil" company, Google, said that he is "very proud" of Google's complex tax avoidance measures. "It's called a capitalsm", he said. And indeed it is, the ugly, arrogant and unacceptable face of it. By Martyn Warwick.</p>

Schmidt ‘Very Proud’ of Google’s Tiny Tax Bill: ‘It’s Called Capitalism’

December 13, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b><strong>Ads giant branded 'morally bankrupt modern-day robber baron'</strong></b></p> <div id="body"> <p>Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has dismissed criticism over how little corporation tax his company pays, saying it's just capitalism.</p> <p>Schmidt is "very proud" of the corporate structure Google set up to divert profits made in European countries, such as the UK, to its firms in the low-tax havens of Ireland and The Netherlands, thus minimising its tax bill.</p>

Google’s Tax Avoidance Is Called ‘Capitalism’, Says Chairman Eric Schmidt

December 13, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Google chairman Eric Schmidt has insisted that he is "very proud" of the company's tax structure, and said that measures to lower its payments were just "capitalism".</b></p>