Privacy

Google Street View Controversy Continues to Roil

May 2, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>A consumer advocacy group wants all the documents connected with the FCC's investigation, while some European regulators may give the Google program a new look.</b></p> <p> The controversy surrounding Google’s Street View initiative collecting personal data from unprotected private WiFi networks is not dying out, fueled by revelations that a company engineer told colleagues about the private information that was being gathered.</p>

Feds Wondered Who Funded Push To Probe Google

May 2, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>Watchdog says it took no money from rivals</b></p> <p> The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and a top FTC staffer traded emails in 2010 about whether Facebook and other tech companies were secretly funding a nonprofit group pushing hard for regulators to investigate Google Inc.</p>

How Much Is A Signature Worth?

May 2, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <a href="http://www.scpr.org/programs/madeleine-brand/2012/05/02/26293/signatures">Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast</a>.<br /> <br /> Torrance Unified School District parents, teachers and administrators line up to sign a petition against state education cuts outside of Torrance High School in Torrance, Calif.<br />  <br />

Google’s Street View ‘Engineer Doe’ Identified

May 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Marius Milner, who created the code that enabled Street View vehicles to capture personal data from WiFi networks, has worked at the company since 2003.<br /> <br /> The Google engineer behind the software code used to collect wireless network data and personal information in connection with the company’s Street View program has been identified as a software maker who has been with the search engine giant since 2003.<br /> <br />

FCC Reveals New Twist In Google ‘Street View’ Case

May 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>Unredacted FCC findings appear to contradict Google's claim that it inadvertently intercepted individuals' internet communications in the process of gathering data from Wi-Fi networks across the globe for the firm's “Street View” project.</b></p>

Street View Engineer Warned Google in 2007

May 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

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AT&T, Google Among Top Lobbying Spenders in First Quarter

April 30, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> AT&T spent nearly US$7.1 million on lobbying the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama's administration in the first quarter of 2012, making it the leading corporate spender on lobbying, with Google, Comcast and Verizon Communications also making the top five.</p> <p> Google, facing antitrust scrutiny in Washington, D.C., spent more than $5 million on lobbying in the quarter, trailing only AT&T and conglomerate General Electric.</p>

Consumer Watchdog Calls For Senate Hearing on Google Wi-Spy Scandal

April 30, 2012  ·  John M. Simpson

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-2625" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/images_googleembedded1_0.jpg" style="width: 120px; height: 90px;" width="120" height="90" />SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog today called for a Senate hearing into the Google Wi-Spy scandal and urged that a key figure known in a Federal Communications Commission report as “Engineer Doe” be granted immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony.<br /> <br />

Details Divulged in Probe of Google Street View

April 29, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong>The employee who wrote code to capture Wi-Fi users' personal data told co-workers about it, the FCC says.</strong><br /> <br /> SAN FRANCISCO -- New revelations in a full report detailing the Federal Communications Commission's investigation into Google's Street View service are raising questions about whether the search giant escaped scrutiny for capturing personal information from millions of unknowing households across the nation.<br /> <br />

Google Spends $5.03 Million on Lobbying

April 24, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <font face="Arial, Helvetica">With Congress and privacy watchdogs breathing down its neck, Google is stepping up its lobbying presence inside the Beltway - spending more than Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft combined in the first three months of the year.<br /> <br />

Tech Firms Behaving Badly

April 23, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <font face="Arial, Helvetica">SAN FRANCISCO - What's Silicon Valley's latest export?<br /> <br /> Try corporate misbehavior.<br /> <br /> In the past two weeks, Google has been spanked for obstructing federal regulators, Apple was slapped with a Justice Department suit for conspiring to drive up e-book prices, and seven tech companies were told they'll go on trial for allegedly colluding to stop employees from jumping from one to the other.<br /> <br />

Yahoo Leads Charge Against ‘Do Not Track’ Proposal

April 18, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Companies that market online are fighting a new standard, proposed last week by privacy advocates at a meeting in Washington, that would bar businesses owned by the same parent corporation from sharing customer information.</p> <p> For example, the proposed rule would prevent See’s Candies and insurer Geico, both of which are owned by Berkshire Hathaway, from sharing customer data with one another. Online companies say the rule would upend routine business practices, and impose huge new costs, thereby harming Internet advertisers and customers.</p>