Privacy

Taking the “Do Not Track Me” fight to Google in Times Square

September 2, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Consumer Watchdog is satirizing Google CEO Eric Schmidt in the most highly-trafficked public square in the nation to make the public aware of how out of touch Schmidt and Google are when it comes to our privacy rights and to make a case for national privacy reform. </p>

Google facing close DOJ scrutiny on ITA

August 28, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Despite what the spinmeisters over at <a href="http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-our-ita-software-acquisition.html">Google's Public Policy Blog</a> would have you believe, the Internet giant is facing tough...</p>

Four House members blast Google-Verizon plan; call on FCC to act

August 17, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Four members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, on Monday ... </p>

” Do Not Track Me” gains traction in Washington

August 15, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> I'm just back from a sweltering week in Washington, DC, convinced that those of us who care about protecting consumers' online privacy have reason for optimism.  There is growing interest in creating a "Do Not Track...</p>

Smile! Aerial Images Being Used to Enforce Laws

August 14, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog is seeking to determine the extent of the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration's use of Google Earth in its investigations, spokesman John M. Simpson said last week. Federal contracting records reviewed by Consumer Watchdog show that the FBI has spent more than $600,000 on Google Earth since 2007. The Drug Enforcement Administration, meanwhile, has spent more than $67,000. Simpson has called on Congress to investigate how U.S. law enforcement and intelligence communities are using Google technologies. The group says it has concerns that data could be used for racial profiling. </p>

3 On Your Side: DIRECTV Complaints

August 12, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p>The nation's largest satellite TV service is getting some static. Consumers have now logged more than 40,000 complaints against DIRECTV on the Better Business Bureau's website. DIRECTV offers promotions like five months free or $29.99 a month. But some customers complain they're then surprised when charged extra fees for leasing equipment, special features and programming <a class="iAs" href="http://cbs3.com/consumer/3.On.Your.2.1857748.html#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">packages</a>.

Google moves to profit from its “crown jewels” — your data

August 11, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> A Wall Street Journal article this week details how Google is increasingly moving to maximize profits  from the vast amount of personal data it has amassed in its global network of servers at the expense of consumers' privacy. </p>

Google Proposes Separate Rules for Wireless Web

August 10, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Verizon Communications Inc. and Google Inc. urged U.S. regulators to leave wireless Internet services outside most policies that are designed to prevent carriers from making some websites perform better than others.  Consumer Watchdog, a consumer group based in Santa Monica, said the proposal "completely undermines the future of the Internet" because the wireless use of the Web is gaining in popularity.

Anger Greets Google-Verizon Plan for Routing Web Traffic

August 10, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Proposal Would Let Internet Providers Favor Some Services</strong><br /> <br /> Smaller Internet companies wouldn't be able to keep pace. "Ultimately, consumers would pay the costs for the premium delivery, or worse, would never see the content of smaller companies," says John Simpson, director of advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. "Google claims it won't use premium channels for delivery, but not long ago they professed to defend true net neutrality."

There’s no privacy in third world America

August 10, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

A big New York foundation once told me years ago that privacy is the last thing people in the developing world have to worry about. It was a nice way of saying no to funding for my consumer group's privacy project, but the line rang out to me with the recent exposures about big tech's privacy problems.

Google, Verizon Offer Internet Proposal

August 9, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Google Inc. and Verizon Inc. in a joint conference call Monday spoke out against blocking, prioritizing or slowing down wired Internet traffic. Santa Monica-based Consumer Watchdog, however, said that while the new broadband proposal "pays lip service to the idea of net neutrality," it would actually "completely undermine the open and free Internet we enjoy." John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with the nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest group, said there are two main problems with the proposal. </p>

Has Google Jumped the Shark?

August 6, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Milo Yiannopoulos Wonders if the Company's Glory Days Are Ancient History </strong> </p> <p> Google has admitted to “accidentally” retrieving and storing masses of personal information, including snippets of emails, while trawling for public WiFi spots. The accidents occurred over a period of four years in 30 countries. Interpreting this bombshell charitably, we might say it was a major and avoidable blunder that cost the company a lot of good will and trust. But groups like Consumer Watchdog suggest that Google was just seeing what it could get away with, and that we wouldn’t know about it at all if they hadn’t got busted: “Its computer engineers run amok, push the envelope and gather whatever data they can until their fingers are caught in the cookie jar.”   </p>