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Consumer Watchdog has created a new anti-Google video portraying Google CEO Eric Schmidt has some kind of evil ice cream man. The video is a commentary on what the group perceives to be Google’s lack of regard for consumer privacy.
Google and Facebook are two of the biggest companies on the web, whatever you think about the privacy practices of either company, both have received a great deal of criticism in this area (though some think the concern about Facebook has been sensationalized by the media). Which do you trust more – Google or Facebook? Comment here.
Specifically, the video draws on an infamous quote from Schmidt in which he said that if you have something you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. Here’s the video:
Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court writes on the organization’s InsideGoogle blog:
Do you want Google or any other online company looking over your shoulder and tracking your every move online just so it can increase its profits? Consumers have a right to privacy. They should control how their information is gathered and what it is used for.
This avatar-style animation video was created to draw attention to Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s lack of regard for our online privacy.
Some have dismissed Consumer Watchdog as being "out there" or "crazy". Others have similar views about Google as the organization. Update: As a reader pointed out, Silicon Alley Insider has discovered that Consumer Watchdog is doing a little tracking of its own.
Google has actually updated its privacy policies. Though it has not actually changed any of its practices, it has made adjustments to make the policies easier to understand.
Google has actually updated its privacy policies. Though it has not actually changed any of its practices, it has made adjustments to make the policies easier to understand.
This isn’t the first time Eric Schmidt has been portrayed as evil in animated form. Don’t forget about this recent net neutrality-related Taiwanese video:
Court says it is promoting the video 36 times per say on a jumbotron in Times Square. The main message of the video is to get people to tell congress that they want a "Do Not Track Me" list similar to the "Do Not Call" list.
Do you think there should be a "Do Not Track Me" list? Do you think Consumer Watchdog’s video went overboard? Share your thoughts.
Yeah saw it on http://www.insidegoogle.com yesterday. Videos are hilarious. I’m glad we have these guys watching our backs. I think Schmidt has to go. He has shown he cares s…t about user privacy. If the government starts heavily regulating search and privacy, Google has nobody by themselves to blame. Support the “Do Not Track Me” list movement! G. needs to be stopped.
Funny vid’s but these are not proof that Google is evil. With anything good there is a bad side to it. Even church or God for that mater that is supposed to be good does things that are bad as innocent as it may be there are two sides to every coin. Survival in this world requires a bit of discretion on what you do in public. You don’t hand your wallet to strangers do you? There is line that you cross when you go online in knowing that what do here is seen by millions. If you copy of your credit card and put it online I bet it wouldn’t take but a few seconds before someone tried to make a purchase using your numbers.
Great article written on business insider about how while complaining about google and tracking they use Google Analytics on their own website.
http://www.businessinsider.com/anti-google-privacy-group-consumer-watchdog-is-tracking-your-clicks-with-google-analytics-2010-9
I think a lot of people probably complain about Google and still use Google products. The same goes for Facebook.
Ah…should’ve looked at the article before I commented. Now I see what you mean.
Hey Chris. What’s up with this? Can you investigate further? Read this, especially the comments: http://www.armandmorin.com/major-google-issue-affects/
I hope you report on this…
Jason, the site is about protecting consumer privacy, not about the choice of software the site chooses to use for analytics or whether they care about the site’s privacy. Because they disagree with Google’s privacy policies doesn’t mean they don’t like their products or should not use them where appropriate! WEAK! Think before posting.
Yeah, Google is really evil. So evil that Texas opened an antitrust investigation of Google. Google is in big trouble. Search for any product name and you will see either adwords at the top of the organic listings, which screams anti-trust, anti-competitive as they have a monopoly on search and they are making money off of Adwords. Please note that Adwords on the right is different. Putting Adwords at the top of the organic listings is a no no. But that’s not the stronger case. The case they have lost already is… Search for a physical product name on Google. You will see that the first listing (site where you can actually buy a product NOT informational sites) is “Google Base” (I think now is called “Google Merchant”. So they are placing their own Google Merchant store right before any other stores on the web. That’s what’s going to can Google. A 5 year old can win that suit.
Texas opens antitrust investigation of Google – http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20015601-265.html
Every page you load in your browser says something about Google in the bottom bar,seems they are into everything!
Every major and most minor sites online use Google Analytics. Remember when Analytics went down last year and the Internet came to a standstill? That’s the power they have. They can, at any time, bring the web to a screaming halt simply by closing the Analytics servers.
Now THAT’S scary.
Really? Sensationalized by the media? Driving around in a truck, harvesting open WiFi data, and then saying f**king oops,…sorry, no mistake there. Google was started through NSA funding, proven fact. Google is a NSA operation to watch you. Don’t think for a minute the benevolent Mr. Google that wants to give you all these free f**king tools, is doing so for your benefit. They are doing so to monitor and track you at every opportunity. The free tools help do the job, understand that.
As for Facebook, the scumbag that runs that show thinks we’re all a bunch of morons. To be honest, I would have to agree that anybody that creates a Facebook page and exposes their deepest inner thoughts through it for all the world to see, must be a moron. Even if you use the privacy settings, you must still be a moron since the company is an obvious public spying tool.
So, which do I trust more? How about this, f**k them both with a splintered 2×4. They are both tools for the NWO. “Be a good little slave and watch everything I do, it’s for my protection.”
Burn their servers.
Fully agree.
It is really difficult to say which one more to trust. Google has such a variety of programs and stuff you use to get more efficient with work on the internet. So I can imagine that they use lots of information from you without you knowing it.
And I think the same is true for Facebook. If you leave your communication as private as possible and only get public the information you think doesn’t matter if anyone can see it than it’s fine. If you public everything on those sites than you have to be sure that more people as your friends will know it.
google need to come clean
“Some have dismissed Consumer Watchdog as being “out there” or “crazy”.”
It should always be a red flag whenever corporations/government (same thing) run around calling anyone with a theory (or flat out facts) against them “crazy”… that’s my first clue that I need to further investigate this “crazy” person or group, because they are usually dead-on with their facts!
evil google video http://bit.ly/bvMSUo
Oh for crying out loud. Google is hardly the only one tracking your every ONLINE move. Anyone that thinks there is any real privacy on the Internet is dreaming. Every single bit of data that goes across the net goes through two CIA operated gateways.
Clothing is being manufactured now with the ability to literally track you.
If you have any kind of government issued identification card, you’re being tracked at least somewhat.
A don’t track me list? Don’t make me laugh. Not only is such a list unwieldy, it’s impossible to police. I can think of at least 100 different ways without trying to maintain tracking without anyone being the wiser.
Hey the UFO site I think is on UFO.COM. Think you posted on the wrong forum.
Any leading corporation such as big G should be leading by example not setting the rules for everyone to follow except them. When we go online and do any purchasing it’s supposed to be like walking into a store and dealing with the cashier. Seams more like now the cashier knows our blood types, life’s history before we even step up to the counter.
The one thing that stands out the most to me about anyone in “power” .. they become bullies,extremely greedy, selfish .. mostly cause they had nothing as a child. Who knows what’s really going on, but it’s sad to see so many huge corporate companies in the black while our own government is in the red for life.
Where did all the people go.. the humans, not the machines we’ve become.
Deep thoughts..
Snerdey
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http://www.twitter.com/snerdey
Everything is monitored to a certain extent, offline/online it doesn’t matter, I guess though if you have nothing to hide, monitoring can protect you, depends how you look on it??
I trust really no one on the web, but as doing business on web, we have to make best out of it. I can afford quiting Facebook for instance, without financial suffer, but quiting Google would really be fullish… unless there is a bigger and better player out there – which at this moment – is not the case.
I think this is important to monitor Google as this is very interesting and can save our rights. Nobody will do this for us but only we can protect ourselvs. Why nobody will help? Simple. Google can by friends – is reach enough. Second – authorities sometimes needs long time to undarstund whats going on in internet and only practiosioners can tell him the true. But when specialist asks, Google can give silly answer and plays on time. Politicians are rather money-sticky and will not have good will. But my experiences is showing that Google decreases page ranking to promote their customers and give them higher positions in search results. This who pay for advertising have special google code inside a page
I don’t trust either company, and with Google being in bed with the Obamanation, that is very scary.
Just because these companies have the resources to track and store data, does not mean they should. Now Google is wanting companies to trust them with their private data, what protection do companie have against Big Brother if they want access to their documents, that Google will act as a guard against this invasion?
Another crusade against windmills…
We all have government issues IDs of some sort, unless you’re a home birthed hillbilly living in a cave sans utilities, and never been out of the woods in your life to be spotted by an orbiting spy cam.
We are all tracked hundreds of times DAILY: Use a credit card, debit card, wire cash you’re tracked. Ever get a photo radar ticket, or were ticketed for going through a red light that caught you on a traffic cam? If so, you were photographed and tracked down to your door. Use a networked computer at work, then for sure you’re being tracked. Ever used an ATM? Both the transaction and your face are on file then. Been in a bank, government building or airport? Made a purchase, even in cash, at any camera equipped convenience stores or pharmacy? Fill up at a gas station and you were video taped doing so and paying, no matter what the means of payment was. Driven across a toll bridge ever? Entered a train or subway station? Walked or driven down any street past a security camera equipped residence, store front, commercial building, consulate or embassy and you are on camera… etc. etc. etc.
So get real? Google is just one of thousands of companies, agencies and individuals tracking our movements, habits, indiscretions, and online activities. This is the 21st century and that’s how it is. If it bothers someone go to the Ozarks, hook up with Clem, rent a corner of his cave and they’ll be safe even from spy satellites.
Sounds like a bad excuse for what’s really being said here. Personally I don’t care how many sources of keeping track of our lives are out there…one less source is better. What it really sounds like you’re saying is you have become so apathetic about being kept track of that you have given up entirely. Granted the sheer weight of the number of sources that watch us is enormous but that shouldn’t stop us from trying to stop ANY new source from spying on us. One reason electronic spying has become so prolific is because of people with views like yourself. People who have given up…people who feel powerless…willing to accept anything that invades personal liberty and privacy. One of the masses that have given in to Big Brother and says “go ahead, I can’t stop you anyway.” It is truly sad that we have become apathetic to that extent as a society.
Companies have been doing this for years, This is nothing new. Every time you go to the store and punch in your members card, it is not because you are a member of some special club, it’s to gather info. DMV use to sell info. years ago without your knowledge. Banks holds huge information on you. Where ever you use plastic, info. is generatsd.
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google is evil. like microsoft bill gates before he wanted to become the owner of the world.now its google. but this big brother stuff, we all carry a mobile phone which tracks our every movement. whereever we go it is talking to the local cell and i’d imagine a record is kept of it.
A shopping mall landlord charges store owners not by the square foot, but by the customer that comes in the door of each shop. This is initially very successful. To bring in more customers to his mall, he tells the people of the surrounding town that he will pay a small sum of money for each customer they bring in. He sets up smart machinery at the mall doors that collects customer information and he pays the townspeople very quickly and automatically.
The landlord keeps the difference as his rent. This works, and soon his is the only mall in the area. Other malls are attempted, but fail.
The landlord wants more money. So he decides to pay the townspeople less per customer. There are many reasons, but the townspeople do not stop bringing in customers.
The landlord sees that there have been no consequences and wants still more money. So he decides to pay the townspeople even less per customer, depending upon that customer’s income. He makes his machines even smarter and collects more information from farther and farther. Customers from the rich part of town are paid for at no more or less than they were before, people from the middle income are paid half of what they were, and people from the poor parts of town are not paid for at all. He tells the townspeople that he is controlling the quality of the customers that come into his mall, and that it is not fair to the shop owners to have to pay for customers who are less likely to purchase from the stores. He does not prove his conclusions to the townspeople who trust that he is benevolent, and tells them that he must keep his data secret from the other potential mall owners or store owners who might find ways around his rules.
Meanwhile, there were poor customers that made purchases, rich customers who did not, and everywhere in between. But the landlord only paid the townspeople for the customers by his rules, and charged the store owners by his other rules.
The landlord sees that there have been no consequences and wants more money. So the landlord then demands higher payment from the store owners too. He tells them that they must pay more because the customer is of better quality. The landlord keeps the now larger difference as his rent.
The landlord sees that there have been no consequences and again wants even more money. So he decides to pay the townspeople even less per customer, depending upon how that customer arrives to the mall. He makes his machines smarter still and collects more information from ever more farther and farther. Customers who arrive in luxury cars are paid for at no more or less than they were before, customers who arrive in family cars are paid half of what they were, and customers who arrive in old cars or by bus are not paid for at all. He again tells the townspeople that he is controlling the quality of the customers that come into his mall, and that it is not fair to the store owners to have to pay for customers who cannot purchase from the stores.
There are many reasons, but the townspeople do not stop bringing in customers.
The landlord then demands more money per customer from the store owners. He again tells them that the customer is now of better quality, and store owners should expect to pay more on a regular basis from now on for each customer as his machines become smarter and smarter. The landlord keeps the even larger difference as his rent.
Meanwhile, there were bus-riding customers that made purchases, luxury car driving customers who did not, and everywhere in between. But the landlord only paid the townspeople for the customers by his rules, and charged the store owners by his other rules.
And on and on it goes. The landlord, who the townspeople believe is not evil, receive less and less pay per customer as time goes on. He adjusts what he pays the townspeople by what the customer wears, how many children they have, their gender, their age, their education and on and on. To know this, he sets up the largest information gathering system the world has ever seen throughout the town.
The landlord is paying pennies on the dollar for a customer and becoming so wealthy and powerful no one could even know. The townspeople were now wearing rags from living off his pennies.
The landlord sees that there has been no consequences and wants more money, but the townspeople are about as poor as they can get. So he decides to set up an auction so that only those stores that are willing to pay the most for a customer actually get that customer. The store owners are desperate, and start to bid against one another. The landlord knows what a customer spends, starts to charge the store owners more and more for the customer. Customers coming in the door are escorted directly to the highest bidder at the door.
And on and on it goes. The landlord, who the store owners believe is not evil, starts to charge more and more per customer. He adjusts by what the customer wears, how many children they have, their gender, their age, their education and on and on. Soon the landlord is charging dollars on the penny for a customer and becoming so wealthy and powerful no one could even know. Only the richest of stores could afford his mall, and any stores outside the mall are starving.
The landlord has become very powerful.
The landlord sees that there have been no consequences and wants to make sure his mall will be safe from anyone else forever. To do this, the landlord will make the world outside to be like his mall.
For example, the landlord controls the free roads in the town outside his mall. The landlord does not own the cars nor does he own the road itself, but he can control where the cars go by influencing the data the stop lights and turn lights receive from his machines. The landlord realizes that controlling where the traffic goes has the same end result as if he did own the road. The landlord now controls whether customers can get to these non-mall stores or not, but cannot charge anyone directly. So the landlord demands that these non-mall store owners do many bizarre, irrelevant and expensive things to appease him to receive free customers from the roads.
An entire industry rises up selling secret knowledge on how to get free customers to the non-mall stores on the controlled roads. Thanks to the landlord, these free customers are no longer free as it either requires a great deal of money, or a great deal of time and work.
Soon only those non-mall stores that can afford great effort are allowed to have any of the free traffic. As in the mall, store owners must commit great resources to receive customers. Stores that do not appease the landlord as he pleases or that do not move into the mall itself are left to starve.
And on and on it goes. The landlord, who the non-mall stores believe is not evil, starves those who do not appease his ever-changing, arcane, secret and un-knowable sense of how things should be. The landlord tells these stores that it is their fault for starving as they did not properly appease him. These starving stores do not look upon the landlord in anger as they see him as their only source of hope for prosperity.
Is this landlord evil? You bet. Google is nothing less than a monopolist playing God with our lives and fortunes, which is done in secret, and without competiton, accountability or consequence.
Here is to hoping big brother can be held at bay for a few more years in the cyber world but my understading is that google and governement work together. If that’s the case, then nothing will come of efforts to quell the problem. Google sold out a while back but they are still a giant and necessary in some ways for webmasters.
Google is evil I agree to that someone has to come along and create a rival search engine. The problem is they have no competition.
I do not recommend FAITH as a method to deal with others.- So to trust on Facebook, Google or any other entity where you use some service is like believing in Greek gods were honest (no honest and less real).
ANYONE can even find more stupid is helping to destroy freedom to make a collective entity (THE STATE) the only one HORRID MONOPOLY OF EVERY THING ON EARTH.
LOOK CAREFULLY TO THE PEOPLE behind the attacks against Google, Facebook, en the others (General electric – Microsoft – ITT – etc). They are the same who work to impose sharia law on americans, the same leftmind tagged persons who work to cut freedom to choose medical service and insurance providers to make people like slaves.
What do you think would be the service and hon sty you would get from Facebook, Google or any other entity if they were nationalized. (by state owned). Would it be possible you to sue them? NO that action would make you to be seen as a traitor to country. If Facebook as a private property broke you can have more other choices (a lot of them) – If a by State Owned company broke, state will stop the failure by taking public money (your money) to hide wrong administration; Service will cost you far more and will be the worst.
Do not believe? Juste look at UK, Germany, Zimbabwe or Venezuela. 20100905
You dont like the things I do, but that’s your problem. You should opt out of my annoying-ness
This is absolutely true. Google has been busted so many times invading private digital data. Several countries have already started filing suit. Also, Google has research facilities on NSA proeprty. Google is basically NSA front and there gonna funnel everyone into this new “Internet 2″ and start charging like “Cable”. Which means that everyone that doesnt qualify to be on the “Internet 2″ will be on limited B.S. bandwidth. Net Neutrality is going out the door. Say Goodbye.
check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv-G79DIY7k
The Truth.
As with politics, if we can just turn the representative of a company or politician into an icon of evil, we can easily manipulate people who are looking for an easy target. It’s much easier than discussing specifics, and ignorant people, who don’t want to really base an opinion on facts love it!
Despotic regimes throughout history have used these tactics.
The fact is that Google is an ad spammer. It has no intention of providing quality search results, so get used to it. Don’t use them, don’t promote them and definitely don’t be foolish to pay for Adwords… eventually they will dry up and go away.
It could be tomorrow if everyone wakes up today!
Google may be worse than the video indicates. Just kidding but they do wield a lot of power and control.
Hitler was right.
Privacy:mistrust:conspiracies:paranoid:phycosis
In the nutshop a few times
Spending 7yrs looking at everything
And anylising
Sorry folks just a personal experience
Is for my protection, everyone is different I guess
People started to not trust the government, so they stopped providing information to them. They didn’t like the government tracking what they spent, so they stopped using credit and debit cards. They stopped subscribing to magazines. They stopped filling out the long form census. They started working under the table and not paying taxes. The government was losing track of these people. They had no way to track them anymore…until Google.
Google gives everything away for free; blogs, email, Google docs…everything. I read online from an ex Google employee (the post has since been taken down) that every time you click on or use a Google product, everything you do is saved on Google’s servers for 75 years. Other search engines and providers save this info for mere months.
Google has unashamedly admitted that it will disclose any of your information to the government without a warrant, thus, the government knows everywhere you go online, everthing you post, every email you send, every document you write…everything.
And you thought you were hiding.
I stopped using anything Google for a very long time. I did everything through Yahoo. I had one Blogspot blog, but it had nothing harmful on it, and was hardly ever updated. Then Google tried to buy Yahoo, and then Yahoo got in bed with Microsoft, which is just as evil (if not more so) than Google.
I had adsense. Every time I would reach payout, Google would suspend my account, and refuse to tell me why, and steal all my money. They actually paid me once, then stopped payment on the check and accused me of having porn on my blogs. I got that all straightened out but I’m just waiting for them to steal my adsense money one more time, then I’m going to sue their asses, along with about 1,000 other people they have been doing this to.
I am about to stop using Google again, because of some strange things that have been showing up in my email and on my blogs. I don’t know where to go, because everyone is in bed with some sort of devil.
Google IS evil, but so is the entire world. Every corporation is evil, and we are so dependent on them that we cannot get away from them.
I’m going to try to find a way.