Privacy

Google Polishes Competition Charm Offensive

June 10, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Google continued to lay the groundwork Wednesday for an antitrust defense in the event that the federal government decides to take a formal look at its core business. Inside a conference room in Google's San Francisco office, executives ran through essentially the same presentation leaked last month by the consumer activist group <a href="../../../">Consumer Watchdog</a>, focusing most of their efforts on trying to paint a picture of Google as just one part of a large Internet ecosystem, as opposed to a dominant search giant.

Reports: DOJ Turns Up The Heat On Google’s Book Deal

June 10, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped up its review of a deal that would settle a lawsuit publishers and authors filed against Google over the latter's book search engine, according to published reports. Consumer Watchdog has charged that the proposed settlement gives Google special protections against lawsuits over orphan works.

Consumer Groups Challenge Obama’s Appointment Of Google Executive

June 6, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Two consumer groups are seeking to throw a roadblock in front of President Obama's pending appointment of Google's top global public policy official, arguing that it would violate Obama's ethics rules aimed at eliminating the influence of lobbyists on the federal government.</strong><br /> <br /> John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog, said McLaughlin is good at what he does – "lobbying around the world for Google's interests," he said. "That's not what this job requires. It should not go to any person whose most recent position has been advocating policy for a technology company," he said.<br />

Obama Urged To Halt Google Government Takeover – Stop The Revolving Door

June 5, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Two consumer watchdogs - including the aptly-named Consumer Watchdog - have urged US President Barack Obama to avoid appointing Google's director of global public policy as the country's deputy chief technology officer.

Google Lobbyist Unfit for Deputy CTO Job, Say Critics

June 4, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <strong>President Obama reportedly is poised to name Andrew McLaughlin, a former Google executive, as U.S. deputy CTO. The choice rankles the heads of two advocacy groups, who maintain that McLaughlin's work as a lobbyist on behalf of Google makes him unsuitable for the government policy development role.</strong> </p>

Growing White House Ties To Google Draw Protest

June 4, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>Consumer Groups Object To Expected Selection Of Google Exec To Deputy CTO Post<br /> </strong><br /> Andrew McLaughlin, Google's director of global public policy, is expected to be appointed U.S. deputy chief technology officer, reporting to <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&taxonomyName=IT+in+Government&articleId=9131827&taxonomyId=69">federal CTO Aneesh Chopra</a>. Both are new White House positions. Two groups, the Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog, yesterday urged Obama not to appoint McLaughlin to the post. In a letter signed by Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy and and John Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog, the groups said that McLaughlin "has been a lobbyist for the biggest digital marketing company in the world, and we believe no special-interest connected person should assume a position of vital importance to the country's future."

Obama’s Googler Draws Fire

June 3, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

A pair of consumer advocacy groups sent the White House a letter on Wednesday urging the administration not to appoint Google’s Andrew McLaughlin to the post, a move reported to be in works by several media outlets. McLaughlin is Google’s director of global public policy. That means he has been “responsible for Google’s worldwide lobbying efforts,” said the letter from Consumer Watchdog and Center for Digital Democracy. Obama has issued an executive order barring anyone who has worked as a lobbyist in the past two years from serving in a federal agency that they lobbied.

Ex-Googler’s New White House Job Rankles Some

June 3, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Andrew McLaughlin’s departure from Google to the Obama administration has prompted a little grumbling among some consumer advocates and the search giant’s corporate foes. “We do not object to Mr. McLaughlin’s appointment because he is associated with Google per se. The problem is that he has been a lobbyist for the biggest digital marketing company in the world, and we believe no special-interest connected person should assume a position of vital importance to the country’s future,” wrote John M. Simpson, founder of Consumer Watchdog, and Jeffrey Chester, founder of the Center for Digital Democracy.

Google’s influence grows in the W.H.

June 3, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Consumer groups urged the White House on Wednesday to back off its reported pick for deputy chief technology officer because he was listed as a registered lobbyist for Google. Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy said Andrew McLaughlin, the head of Google’s global public policy, would break President Barack Obama’s executive order barring lobbyists from serving in policy areas they lobbied in the previous two years.

Critics Rip Obama’s Proposed Google Pick

June 3, 2009  ·  Consumer Watchdog

As rumors swirl that President Obama plans to appoint Google's Andrew McLaughlin as White House deputy chief technology officer, consumer watchdogs bay over possible ethics violations. "Mr. McLaughlin is very good at what he does — lobbying around the world for Google’s interests," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at  Consumer Watchdog. "That's not what this job requires. It should not go to any person whose most recent position has been advocating policy for a technology company."

Obama’s Rumored Tech Pick Panned

June 3, 2009  ·  John M. Simpson

A pair of watchdogs on Wednesday urged the White House not halt the pending appointment of Google's top global public policy executive to the position of deputy chief technology officer under CTO Aneesh Chopra, saying it would violate the intent of President Obama's ethics rules. Although the choice of Google's Andrew McLaughlin for the position has been widely reported, it has yet to be announced.

Opposing Obama’s Deputy CTO Pick

June 3, 2009  ·  John M. Simpson

Two consumer groups have lined up to oppose President Obama's pending <a href="http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/06/google_government.php">appointment</a> of Google's Andrew McLaughlin as deputy chief technology officer in the White House. In a letter to Obama, John Simpson, consumer advocate at <a href="../../../">Consumer Watchdog</a> (formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights), and Jeffery Chester, executive director of the <a href="http://www.democraticmedia.org/">Center for Digital Democracy</a>, said McLaughlin's position as Google's director of global public policy violates the intent of the president's ethics rules to stop the revolving door between lobbyists and the executive branch.