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Critics Call For Probe Into Google Government Ties

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the begin-the-probing dept.

bonch writes "The National Legal and Policy Center has written to the House Oversight Committee to investigate alleged ties between Google and the Obama administration, specifically with regards to the closure of an FTC probe into Google's Wi-Fi privacy breach, when the company admitted to having collected users' unencrypted information over the course of three years. The NLPC compares Google's relationship with the administration to that of Halliburton and cites the timing of a $30,000-a-head Democratic fundraiser at Google CEO Marissa Meyer's home less than a week before the FTC ended its inquiry, where Obama made a personal appearance, as well as the fact that US deputy chief technology officer Andrew McLaughlin is a former Google employee. The NLPC further alleges that the FTC is tougher on other companies, issuing fines to Twitter and Sears for their privacy violations while letting Google off the hook after the company promised to improve its privacy practices."

9 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Just another non-profit, I'm sure by Sonny+Yatsen · · Score: 4, Informative

    From Wikipedia:

    The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) is a right-leaning 501(c)(3) non-profit group that monitors and reports on the ethics of public officials, supporters of liberal causes, and labor unions in the United States.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Legal_and_Policy_Center

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    My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
  2. More Info on the NLPC, they are DIRTY by spun · · Score: 5, Informative

    They are a front: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Legal_and_Policy_Center

    --
    - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    1. Re:More Info on the NLPC, they are DIRTY by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 3, Informative

      So, basically they are a right wing version of Media Matters or Center for American Progress?

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      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    2. Re:More Info on the NLPC, they are DIRTY by blackraven14250 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Considering that Media Matters isn't about creating misinformation, but rather about debunking misinformation perpetrated by others, I think there's at least a bit of a difference.

  3. Errors in summary by Snowblindeye · · Score: 4, Informative

    Democratic fundraiser at Google CEO Marissa Meyer's home

    Eric Schmidt might be surprised to find that Google has a new CEO ;)

    I know this is Slashdot, but could we get basic facts right in the summary? Marissa Mayer is a Google VP, not the CEO

    I know, I must be new here...

  4. Re:Collecting data by LanMan04 · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's not legal to trespass into someone's home just because the door was unlocked.

    Which is not at all what Google did. Your wireless router transmits data into public space (the street). Anyone is free to collect that data. Don't like it? Paint your house in RF-blocking paint or don't use wireless!

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    With the first link, the chain is forged.
  5. LIAR by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, you lie.

    Media Matters received its first ever donation from Soros last month, after years of you Republicans lying, say he was financing it all along. Meanwhile, you Republicans have your fraud network financed by billionaires like the Koch brothers who also finance Republican campaigns, lately secretly through the Citizens United rules that dominated the election that just passed.

    Of course it sounds "fair and balanced" to you, because it's an endless pile of Republican lies, just like the Fox "News" that uses that fraudulent slogan.

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    --
    make install -not war

    1. Re:LIAR by blackraven14250 · · Score: 3, Informative

      First, who do you think is viable for a 2012 Republican bid that isn't working for Fox other than Mitt Romney? They pay Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee - literally everyone GOP other than Romney that is a major candidate for 2012 who isn't currently an office holder.

      Second, did you forget that after the 2008 election, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and Karl Rove all joined Fox as regular contributors? You know, McCain's VP, the guy 2nd in the primary race, and the guy who orchestrated the previous 8 years of the Republican Era.

  6. Re:"Only an idiot fights a war on two fronts." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    No, their CEO did not say that.

    During an interview, aired on December 3, 2009 on the CNBC documentary "Inside the Mind of Google", Eric Schmidt was asked "People are treating Google like their most trusted friend. Should they be?" His reply was: "I think judgment matters. If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place, but if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines including Google do retain this information for some time, and it’s important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act. It is possible that that information could be made available to the authorities."

    In other words, "you have nothing to fear from Government information requests if you have nothing hidden".

    I understand your deep-rooted desire to demonize Google, but stop propagating falsehoods.