Privacy

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.<br />

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.

Liveblog: Wrapping up

July 27, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The three-hour hearing on Online Consumer Privacy has just come to a close, but unfortunately nothing substantive has emerged. Senators asked the two panels questions that were fed to them by their staff, and, when responses came from Google & Facebook that were conciliatory-sounding enough, the Senators refused, or perhaps more likely did not know how, to ask follow-up questions that might have actually taken us somewhere.

Liveblog: Google still “investigating” wi-spy activities

July 27, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Google Privacy Engineering Lead Dr. Alma Whitten told the Committee that the company was "conducting investigations" into why its Street View cars gathered communications from home WiFi networks.

Liveblog: FTC chairman endorses “opt-in”

July 27, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz endorsed an opt-in framework for privacy policies on the internet over an opt-out one in response to a question by Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV). <br/> <br/> Asked generally about what...

Consumer Watchdog Poll Finds Concern About Google’s Wi-Spy Snooping

July 27, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>Americans Favor Broad Range Of Online Privacy Protections for Consumers</strong> </p> <p> SANTA MONICA, CA -- A significant majority of Americans are troubled by recent revelations that Google’s Street View cars gathered communications from home WiFi networks, and they want stronger legal protection to preserve their online privacy, according to a national opinion poll released today by Consumer Watchdog.<br /> </p>

Liveblogging online privacy hearing

July 27, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Today I will be liveblogging the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation <a href="http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=0bfb9dfc-bbd7-40d6-8467-3b3344c72235&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d35-56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=b06c39af-e033-4cba-9221-de668ca1978a">hearing</a> on Consumer Online Privacy. It is the first hearing on this subject by a full committee.

Google blows deadline for Los Angeles email switch; can¿t meet LAPD needs

July 26, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Google has blown the deadline to move the <a href="http://lacity.org/index.htm">City of Los Angeles</a>‘ email system and other applications to the Internet Giant’s highly touted cloud computing system because it...</p>

House Dems Block White House Witness in Google Email Breach

July 23, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

At the hearing, a consumer watchdog testified that he believed the White House was too cozy with Google, and the company’s lobbying interests. “I do think that Google specifically has perhaps too close a relationship with the government,” said John Simpson, director of the Stem Cell Project. “I think Mr. McLaughlin’s appointment is one of those ties that are inappropriate.”<br />

Congressman Boucher’s ties to Google may explain comments

July 23, 2010  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <a href="http://www.boucher.house.gov/">Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va</a>, chairman of the<a href="http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=166&Itemid=69"> Communications,...</a> </p>