Consumer Watchdog Questions Google's Relationship with the Government

Consumer Watchdog, a consumer advocacy group, is calling on Congress to investigate the partnership between Google and the government, particularly the National Security Administration. The relationship became public around a year ago when a story appeared in the Washington Post, entitled, "Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks." Initially, there was not great speculation due to issues that Google had experienced with China that might call for government intervention and involvement.

However, the relationship has become a heated subject of discussion since last February as events have unfolded that have prompted demands for more information. Consumer Watchdog sent a 32 page letter to Representative Darrell Issa, the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asking for an investigation about the entire relationship between Google and various govenment agencies. You can download a PDF of the entire complaint here.

Consumer Watchdog questions treatment that Google has received from the government in contract decisions. They also question the government's light reaction concerning the controversy over Google Street View cars. Google admitted to accidentally gathering private information from Wi-Fi networks.

The latest speculations have been fueled by Google executives having special access to Moffett Federal Airfield near Google headquarters. According to PCWorld, Google does pay rent, but they are afforded access to areas that other businesses are not allowed.

There have been insinuations made that Consumer Watchdog is in a special relationship with Microsoft, a Google competitor. Switched.com quotes Google's reaction in this article:

Google seems unfazed by the allegations, and openly questions the objectivity of Consumer Watchdog's claims. "This is just the latest in a long list of press stunts from an organization that admits to working closely with our competitors," a company spokeswoman said.

Consumer Watchdog vehemently denies this, of course, according to PCWorld.com.

But Consumer Watchdog gets no funding from Microsoft or any other Google competitor, said John Simpson, consumer advocate with the group. "We don't have any relationship with Microsoft at all," he said. "We don't take any of their money.

However, average, everyday folk feel a little uneasy that a mega-Internet presence would be partnering with a top-secret government agency. This is especially true when Google has admitted to illegally violating people's privacy with their information gathering.

While we have no reason to believe that our government would have any sinister motives to invade our privacy, people who remember the USSR can easily imagine how the KGB would have utilized the information that Google has at their fingertips. What did you search for today?