Privacy

Group Files FTC Complaint Over Facebook Credits

June 29, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A consumer-advocacy group said Wednesday it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over Facebook Inc.’s virtual currency, called Facebook Credits, arguing that the rules for its payments system are anticompetitive.</p> <p id=""> In communication addressed to FTC Secretary Donald Clark, Consumer Watchdog argues that Facebook is imposing unfair conditions on developers hoping to deploy games on the popular social network, which often involve exchanges of virtual currency.</p>

Consumer Watchdog Files Antitrust Complaint Against Facebook

June 29, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>Group argues that new terms for Facebook Credits will create virtual goods monopoly</b></p> <p> Consumer Watchdog has focused much of its efforts over the past couple of years on Google, arguing loud and often that the search giant is an emerging information monopoly, a chronic abuser of privacy and a <a href="http://www.itworld.com/government/134613/consumer-watchdog-calls-investigation-google">recipient of favors</a> from the Obama White House.</p> <p> Now the public interest group is turning its antitrust attention to Google's main rival, Facebook.</p>

Facebook Credits Draws Criticism, Inspires Competition

June 29, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <span class="imgright"><img align="bottom" border="0" src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/WashingtonPost/Content/Production/Blogs/faster-forward/Images/2011-06-17T054819Z_01_SIN305_RTRIDSP_3_FACEBOOK-FRIENDS.jpg?uuid=rX1vmqJaEeCDctuio8wgiA" width="228" /><br /> <span class="blog_caption">Facebook’s Credits program has some developers chafing at new requirements set to take effect July 1. (Thierry Roge - Reuters) </span></span></p>

Facebook Credits Violate Antitrust Laws: Consumer Watchdog

June 29, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="entry_content news_no_design"> <div id="news_img_block" style="float:left;"> <img src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/299396/thumbs/s-FACEBOOK-CREDITS-ANTITRUST-CONSUMER-WATCHDOG-large.jpg" /></div> </div> <p> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/25/facebook-credits-mandatory-for-developers_n_813429.html" target="_hplink" rel="noopener">Facebook Credits</a> let you buy as many bushels of virtual zucchini as you'd like. They may also violate antitrust law.</p>

Facebook Credits Target Of Consumer Watchdog Complaint

June 29, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- The Consumer Watchdog organization has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission accusing Facebook of violating antitrust laws through the use of its currency system, "Facebook Credits."</p> <p> Consumer Watchdog is also targeting the deal between Facebook and game developer Zynag as another alleged unreasonable restraint on trade.</p> <p> Zynga is the producer of most of the games played on the popular social networking website.</p> <p> The virtual goods market is expected to produce more than $2 billion in revenue in 2011.</p>

Tech’s Star CEOs Could Be Drag On Obama

June 28, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <span id="articlebody"><img class=" size-full wp-image-9252" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/techceosobama.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 272px;" width="644" height="700" />They're technology celebrities who are responsible for one of America's hottest products (the iPad 2), its most transformative cultural trend (Facebook) and one of the coolest additions to the national vocabulary (Googling). </span></p>

Grave Mistakes in SSA Bring Problems – 14,000 People Wrongly Reported Deceased Annually

June 26, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> (Scripps Howard News Service) WASHINGTON, DC - The Social Security Administration each month falsely reports that nearly 1,200 living Americans have died.<br /> <br /> These clerical errors, found in a federal database ominously titled the "Death Master File," might be darkly humorous - evoking Mark Twain's famous quip that death reports can be greatly exaggerated - were not the consequences so severe.<br /> <br />

Google’s Top Execs Refuse To Testify At Senate Hearing

June 24, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

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ENGINE KNOCK – Feds launch antitrust probe into Google’s market influence

June 24, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Google is about to get searched by the Feds.<br /> <br /> The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is reportedly launching a widespread antitrust investigation into the world’s largest Internet search company, and civil subpoenas could come as early as today, according to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303339904576403603764717680.html">Wall Street Journal</a>.<br /> <br />

Group Slams White House Google Links

June 24, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- A consumer group says the White House must distance itself from Google while the company is the subject of a federal antitrust investigation.<br /> <br /> Consumer Watchdog, in a letter delivered Friday, asked White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, responsible for overseeing ethics policy, "to rule that the president and other members of the administration must distance themselves from Google until the investigations are concluded," Politico reported.<br /> <br />

Consumer Group Says White House Is Too Friendly With Google

June 24, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Frequent Google critic Consumer Watchdog wrote to the White House Counsel on Friday arguing that President Obama and other administration officials must distance themselves from Google during pending federal investigations of the search giant.</p> <p> "It’s unheard of for the President to publicly embrace a corporate executive whose company is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department," said Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court and Privacy Project Director John Simpson.</p>

Google’s Dominance Draws New Scrutiny From Regulators

June 24, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Tech titan Google has built its runaway success on a promise to consumers that the firm’s almighty search engine can take the untamed jungle of sites and information on the Web and spit out exactly what people are looking for, whether it’s the cheapest shoes or the best home mortgage rates.</p>