Privacy

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>

FTC targets Google for antitrust investigation

June 23, 2011  ·  John M. Simpson

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-2138" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ftcbldg_0.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 100px;" width="100" height="100" />Since April when <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-05/google-said-to-be-possible-target-of-antitrust-probe-after-ita-acquisition.html">Bloomberg News reported</a> that the <a href="http://ftc.gov/">Federal Trade Commission</a> was contemplating a full-blown antitrust investigation of Google, people who follow the Internet giant have been waiting for the other shoe to drop.</p>

Critics Cheer Possible Google Antitrust Probe

June 23, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Google's critics Thursday were cheering a report that the Federal Trade Commission is poised to issue subpoenas against the Internet search giant as part of a possible antitrust probe.</p>

Banker Selected to Lead Stem-Cell Agency

June 23, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="header"> <h1> <a href="http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/" title="Go to Prescriptions Home"><img alt="Prescriptions - Making Sense of the Health Care Debate" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/blogs_v3/prescriptions/prescriptions_print.png" /></a></h1> <div align="left"> <p> LOS ANGELES — An investment banker with an interest in biology has been chosen to be the new chairman of California’s $3 billion stem cell research program, taking over at a time when the state’s fiscal crisis could jeopardize financing for the effort.</p>

Investment Banker Chosen To Head State Stem Cell Agency

June 23, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="inline inline_photothin inline-right "> <img alt="Researchers hope to use stem cells like these grown in a medium made by Life Technologies to repair a wide range of damaged tissue in the heart, lungs and other organs." class="marB5" src="http://media.signonsandiego.com/img/photos/2011/06/22/thomascolor_t200.JPG?39712786e4cb1cbb07eb37efc554bfcda7e0e9b8" /> <h6>

Why are Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Page Afraid of Congress?

June 22, 2011  ·  Jamie Court

<p> <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/video/mr-schmidt-goes-washington"><img class=" size-full wp-image-2134" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/schmidtvideotruck_0.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 188px;" width="1200" height="900" /></a>No CEO ever likes to testify before Congress, but Google's CEOs, past (Eric Schmidt) and present (founder Larry Page), are going so far out of their way to avoid testifying in Congress that they are begging for a subpoena. </p>

Congress, Google Clash Over Schmidt, Page Appearance

June 22, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> A Senate subcommitte is pushing Google to have Eric Schmidt or Larry Page testify at an upcoming hearing on search competition, and is reportedly using the threat of a subpoena to force an appearance.</p> <p> <span id="intellitxt">"We write to request that Google testify at the hearing and, specifically, that one of you appear as the company's witness," Sens. Herb Kohl and Michael Lee, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, wrote in a June 10 letter to Schmidt and Page.</span></p>

Google: We’ll Pass on the Antitrust Hearing, But if You’ve Got a Dinner Gala Coming Up, Let Us Know

June 22, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> You’d think that with Google’s growing influence in Washington and its close ties to the Obama administration, the company would find it relatively easy to make its leadership available for a Senate subcommittee hearing — particularly one focused on its growing market power. Not so.</p>

Arnold Achieves ‘Post Partisanship’ With Uniform Disapproval In New Poll

June 17, 2011  ·  Jamie Court

<p> <img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2128" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/arnoldforgov.gif" style="width: 190px; height: 200px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; float: right;" width="250" height="263" />The quote of the week goes to Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, which is just out with a poll that shows Arnold Schwarzenegger with a 75% disapproval rating among voters and with 90% of Los Angeles residents rejecting him.</p>

Facebook Hires D.C. Insiders

June 15, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> SAN FRANCISCO — When it comes to Washington insiders, Facebook is on a hiring spree — landing former Clinton Press Secretary Joe Lockhart on Tuesday after bringing on several former Bush administration aides and flirting with President Barack Obama's former press secretary, Robert Gibbs.<br /> <br /> These aren’t idle friendships.<br /> <br /> With an initial public offering just months away, Facebook faces a nightmare scenario in Washington: passage of a restrictive federal privacy law that could make its business all but impossible.<br />

Privacy Groups Request FTC Probe of Facebook Facial Recognition Tech

June 13, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> A D.C.-based privacy group has asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine Facebook's facial-recognition technology.<br /> <br />