Privacy Archives

Scientific Panel Recommends Changes To Californiaâ€™s Stem Cell Institute

December 6, 2012 · Mark Reback

The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine received a mixture of praise and hard-to-enact recommendations from an august scientific body today. Last summer, CIRM asked the Institute of Medicine to gather a group of experts to assess the stem-cell institute’s performance, which has distributed more than $1.3 billion to California researchers at dozens of institutions. CIRM paid $700,000 for the assessment.

Report Recommends Changes To California Stem Cell Agency’s Board, Goals

December 6, 2012 · Mark Reback

A review of California's stem cell research funding agency proposed changes to the agency's governing structure and commercial goals while praising its results so far. The 124-page report from the Institute of Medicine recycles many conflict of interest and intellectual property concerns that have dogged the San Francisco-based California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, since California voters in 2004 approved $3 billion in state-backed bonds to fund stem cell research over 10 years.

Facebook May Win Sponsored Stories Settlement – But The Ads Don’t Work

December 5, 2012 · Mark Reback

It appears Facebook will be getting off virtually scot-free in the class action brought over its hijacking of users' Likes for Sponsored Stories. The few people who objected to being turned into advertising tools may end up getting $10 apiece. The irony is that consumers' reactions to the ads apparently have been largely neutral or even negative -- so in that respect, Facebook loses.

Give Us Comments, Not Votes, Says Facebook

December 5, 2012 · Mark Reback

Facebook wants to dump its current system of letting users vote on policy changes, arguing that it can be gamed by activists. Instead, it just wants to consider users' feedback. Privacy advocates don't like that idea, but users pretty much don't care. So far, fewer than 300,000 votes have been cast -- the vast majority to keep the voting system -- but 300 million or so are needed to make a vote binding.

FTC Nominee Shows His Anti-Consumer Outlook

December 5, 2012 · John M. Simpson

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2541" alt="" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/images_wright.jpg" style="width: 143px; height: 143px; float: right;" width="143" height="143" /><a href="http://mason.gmu.edu/~jwrightg/">Joshua Wright</a>, nominee to the Federal Trade Commission faced tough grilling before the <a href="http://commerce.senate.gov/public/">Senate Commerce Committee </a>Tuesday and his answers did nothing to change my view that he is a bad choice for the Commission.

FTC Nominee Grilled by Senate Panel

December 4, 2012 · Mark Reback

Wright Said He'd Recuse Himself From Google Case If the Senate clears his nomination for the Federal Trade Commission, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/obama-set-nominate-new-ftc-commissioner-143531">Joshua Wright</a> will sit out the agency's investigation into Google.

FTC Nominee Quizzed on Past Work, Will Recuse Himself From Google Case

December 4, 2012 · Mark Reback

A Republican nominee to the Federal Trade Commission who has written articles and conducted research funded indirectly by Google and other corporate interests pledged on Tuesday to recuse himself from matters involving the Internet firm for at least two years.

FTC should proceed with case against Google

November 30, 2012 · Jamie Court

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2466" alt="" height="242" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/jamiepic-new1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="161" />When you stare down a $220 billion corporation, it's hard not to blink. But if <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/blog/google-gets-antitrust-ultimatum-ftc">the Federal Trade Commission doesn't deliver on its ultimatum to Google</a> that it settle its antitrust problems soon for real relief or face prosecution, then consumers will never get the open and unfettered online and mobile access to information they deserve.

Keep The Internet Free

November 29, 2012 · John M. Simpson

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2538" alt="" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/images_internet_censorship.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 188px; float: right;" width="370" height="278" />Should one company be able to control how you use the Internet and what you see? Google -- with 70% of online search and 90% of mobile search markets -- is increasingly doing this. Evidence before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shows that Google skews its results towards its own services and commercial priorities, when consumers believe they are getting the most "popular" organic result.

‘Do Not Track’ Push For Web Privacy Hits A Virtual Wall

November 28, 2012 · Consumer Watchdog

The two-year-old drive to give consumers a simple way to block companies from tracking their behavior as they move across the Internet has faltered, say participants in the process who are struggling to reconcile privacy concerns with an advertising model that pays for many free Internet services.

Facebook Provokes Ire On Privacy, Again

November 27, 2012 · Consumer Watchdog

Facebook has run into a fresh attack from privacy activists after the huge social network modified policies on how it manages users' data. The changes unveiled last week ended Facebook's effort to allow users to vote on privacy policy, but also permits sharing of information with its newly acquired photo-sharing service, Instagram. Additionally, the changes make it easier for advertisers and others to send messages on Facebook, limiting users' control, according to privacy rights groups.

Facebook (Un)Rocks The Vote