Privacy

Amazon’s Price App Draws Fire

December 10, 2011 · Mark Reback

<img class=" size-full wp-image-9482" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/images_amazonapp.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 178px;" width="600" height="356" />Stores say it unfairly encourages shoppers to look at goods in person but buy online. Amazon.com Inc. and the nation's bricks-and-mortar retailers are in combat again, this time over the online giant's price-comparison tool that enables shoppers to quickly check out prices at rival merchants.

Hoping for Cures, Supporters May Back Another Ballot Measure for Stem Cell Agency

December 9, 2011 · Mark Reback

Touted seven years ago as a way to develop "breakthrough cures" for an array of life-threatening ailments, California's $3 billion taxpayer-financed stem cell agency still has no treatments on the market and is at a critical juncture that could determine how much longer it stays in operation.

Lawmakers, Consumer Advocates Urge Federal Probe of Carrier IQ Mobile Services

December 5, 2011 · Mark Reback

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Sen. Al Franken D-Minn., and Consumer Watchdog are asking federal regulators to investigate whether mobile software firm Carrier IQ's practices violate consumer privacy rights. And groups like the Center for Digital Democracy are calling for federal privacy legislation. The company came under fire after reports that its software, installed on many major carriers' smartphones, collects and transmits potentially sensitive data about device users. Carriers using Carrier IQ claimed they solely use the service to improve and maintain network performance.

Carrier IQ Defends Itself in Furor Over Smartphone Users’ Privacy

December 3, 2011 · Mark Reback

The software firm acknowledges that it collects a wide variety of smartphone usage data. 'But capturing keystrokes and [text] messages, email, audio and video is not what we do.'

AT&T’s False Promises Fail to Convince Regulators of Merger Benefits

December 2, 2011 · Laura Antonini

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2317" alt="" dir="ltr" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/att-t-mobile-210x170.jpg" style="float: right; width: 250px; height: 202px; " width="210" height="170" /> Consumers can claim another victory in the AT&T/T-Mobile merger battle. Regulators listened to our warnings about the wireless giant’s false promises to consumers and are now blocking the deal.

Consumer Watchdog Wants Probe of Carrier IQ, Carriers

December 2, 2011 · Mark Reback

The software maker has turned mobile phones into spy phones, the consumer group says IDG News Service -- Consumer Watchdog has called for a U.S. government investigation of Carrier IQ, the maker of tracking software for mobile phones, and its users. The consumer group on Friday sent letters to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski asking their agencies to investigate the software developer, mobile operating system makers Google and Apple, and mobile carriers.

Carrier IQ Faces Lawsuits, Lawmaker Seeks FTC Probe

December 2, 2011 · Mark Reback

Carrier IQ's woes continue to multiply. The Mountain View, Calif., startup now faces four lawsuits over allegations that its cellphone software violates the privacy of mobile users. A congressman has also asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission today to investigate those charges.

All Eyes On Carrier IQ Following Spyware Allegations

December 1, 2011 · Mark Reback

A network monitoring application has privacy watchdogs up in arms after a security researcher claimed that the software is capable of recording detailed phone activity and relaying it to carriers without the user even being aware that it's present on the device. Various carriers and device makers are vehemently denying any involvement with Carrier IQ, and a U.S. Senator has demanded answers from the software maker.

Consumer Outfit Rips Hyundai Elantra’s Gas Mileage Rating

November 30, 2011 · Mark Reback

A consumer organization is going to bat for buyers of Hyundai Elantras who complain about the compact's gas mileage. Reacting to media reports and website discussion boards, Consumer Watchdog, an outfit in Santa Monica, Calif., and Washington, is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to take a fresh look at the gas mileage ratings of the Elantra, which is officially rated at 29 miles a gallon in the city, 40 mpg on the highway and an average of 33 mpg. The letter, in particular, cites:

Privacy Groups Generally Cheer FTC’s Facebook Settlement

November 29, 2011 · Mark Reback

Privacy and technology groups generally applauded a wide-ranging settlement between Facebook and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the social-networking site's privacy practices. The FTC alleged that Facebook repeatedly deceived users by saying their data was private when it wasn't.

You can read ‘CQ Researcher’ in-depth report on Google’s dominance

November 23, 2011 · John M. Simpson

<img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2203" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/images_johndrawingname.gif" style="width: 133px; height: 200px; float: right;" width="133" height="200" />The Prestigious <a data-mce-href="http://www.cqpress.com/researcher" href="http://www.cqpress.com/researcher">CQ Researcher</a> has recently tackled the issue of Google's dominance, asking the question: "Is the online-search giant too powerful?" See below for information about how you can read the entire online version of this important study.

Feds Target Mortgage Ad Scams On Bing, Yahoo

November 21, 2011 · Mark Reback

The federal organization overseeing the administration of funds from the 2008 bailout has cracked down on alleged scams that used Bing and Yahoo to lure vulnerable homeowners with ads for bogus mortgage modification deals.

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