Privacy

Google, Verizon Offer Internet Proposal

August 9, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

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.

Has Google Jumped the Shark?

August 6, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Milo Yiannopoulos Wonders if the Company's Glory Days Are Ancient History 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.”

Watchers Fear Google Compromise on ‘Net Neutrality’

August 5, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

SAN FRANCISCO — Online freedom advocates fear that Google is changing allegiance in the battle to stop Internet service providers from giving preferential treatment to those that pay. Nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog portrayed any compromise by Google on net neutrality as a betrayal. "Apparently Google redefines principles to suit the business need of the moment," said John Simpson, a consumer advocate with the group. "What Google and Verizon are trying to do is carve up the Internet behind closed doors for their own benefit."

Google Teams Up with CIA to Fund “Recorded Future” Startup Monitoring Websites, Blogs & Twitter Accounts

July 30, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Investors at the CIA and Google are backing a company called "Recorded Future" that monitors tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts in real time in order to find patterns, events and relationships that may predict the future. The news comes amidst Google’s so-called "Wi-Spy" scandal, that refers to revelations that Google’s Street View cars operating in some thirty countries snooped on private Wi-Fi networks over the last three years.

Google WiFi Data Collection Questions Whether America Protects Privacy At All

July 29, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

According to a new poll from Consumer Watchdog a major part of Americans are very concerned about the privacy issues arousing from Google’s Street View data collection. Much covered reports about Google’s gathering private information from users’ WiFi networks make US consumers doubt in the efficiency of privacy protection measures implemented today, they want better privacy protections put in place.

Google Users Concerned About WiSpy But Still Prefer Google

July 28, 2010 · Consumer Watchdog

Web consumers are concerned about Google's collection of data over wireless networks, but still give the search engine and Web services provider a favorable rating of 74 percent. That's the latest from a poll conducted by Google watchers Consumer Watchdog and Grove Insight, which also found citizens are concerned about their privacy.