Video lambasting Google on privacy hits Times Square

September 3, 2010
A cartoon version of Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has been seen on a giant screen in Times Square

Enlarge

A video cartoon featuring Google's chief Eric Schmidt (pictured) giving away ice cream to snoop on children aired on a giant screen in Times Square on Thursday as a privacy group continued to hound the Internet giant. A cartoon version of Google boss was shown cruising a residential neighborhood in an ice cream truck, spying on children and disclosing their parents' Internet browsing habits.

A video cartoon featuring Google's chief giving away ice cream to snoop on children aired on a giant screen in Times Square as a privacy group continued to hound the Internet giant.

Consumer Watchdog took its gripes with to the center of Manhattan on Thursday, where it paid to have a "Don't be evil?" animated clip shown on a "Jumbotron" screen above the masses coursing through Times Square.

A cartoon version of Google chief executive was shown cruising a residential neighborhood in an ice cream truck, spying on children and disclosing their parents' Internet browsing habits.

"We're satirizing Schmidt in the most highly-trafficked public square in the nation to make the public aware of how out of touch Schmidt and Google are when it comes to our privacy rights," said Watchdog president Jamie Court.

The snippet displayed as an advertisement in Times Square was from a video clip posted online at insidegoogle.com, a website run by Watchdog.

"We like ice cream as much as anyone, but we like privacy even more," Google said in response to an AFP inquiry regarding the video.

"That's why we provide tools for users to control their privacy online, like Google Dashboard, Ads Preference Manager, Chrome incognito mode and 'off the record' Gmail chat."

The California-based Internet titan said that information about its privacy tools can be found online at google.com/.

(c) 2010 AFP

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

random
Sep 03, 2010

Rank: not rated yet
When will people realize that we've crossed the threshold. This is the 21st century: privacy is a thing of the past.
random
Sep 03, 2010

Rank: not rated yet
When will people realize that we've crossed an irreversible threshold into an information economy? Privacy is now a thing of the past and we will never get it back, no matter how much we try. In an information economy, personal information becomes far too valuable to hoard. We can't stop the seekers from finding our information, but what we can do is exploit the economy to make a profit from selling our privacy. This way at least, everybody wins, a little.
jjoensuu
Sep 05, 2010

Rank: not rated yet
"to make a profit from selling our privacy"

Thanks Einstein. And how do YOU actually make a profit from this ongoing-privacy-breach? Or do you work for Google and make a profit from other peoples data?
Rank not rated yet
Tags

eric schmidt, google, times square, privacy, consumer watchdog
Related Stories
more news
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • feed hold button on CNC lathe
    created14 hours ago
  • Mechanics of Solids ( Final exam question) please help!
    created16 hours ago
  • RFAC in Fortran
    created19 hours ago
  • dynamics 2/32
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • dynamics
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • Vibration Absorbtion Problem
    createdFeb 08, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - General Engineering

More news stories

First Google hire leaving for online academy

The first person hired by Google's founders is leaving the Internet giant to devote himself to an innovative online education website called Khan Academy.

Technology / Internet

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

FBI file: Steve Jobs was considered for govt post

(AP) -- FBI background interviews of some people who knew Apple co-founder Steve Jobs reveal a man driven by power and alienating some of the people who worked with him.

Technology / Business

created 2 hours ago | popularity 3 / 5 (4) | comments 0

NY attorney general ends lawsuit against Intel

(AP) -- Intel Corp. is paying $6.5 million as part of a deal to terminate an antitrust lawsuit filed against the chip maker by the New York attorney general's office.

Technology / Business

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

LinkedIn's 4Q earnings strong, revenue doubles

(AP) -- LinkedIn reported a strong fourth quarter as the online professional-networking service added 14 million members. Its net income and revenue beat Wall Street's expectations.

Technology / Business

created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New integrated building model may improve fish farming operations

Today's "locavore" movement with its emphasis on eating more locally-produced food is a natural fit for fruits and vegetables in nearly every region, but few entrepreneurs have dared to apply the concept to ...

Technology / Engineering

created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


'Dark plasmons' transmit energy

Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers at Rice University.

Anyone can learn to be more inventive, cognitive researcher says

There will always be a wild and unpredictable quality to creativity and invention, says Anthony McCaffrey, a cognitive psychology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, because an "Aha moment" is rare and ...

Ultraviolet protection molecule in plants yields its secrets

Lying around in the sun all day is hazardous not just for humans but also for plants, which have no means of escape. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can damage proteins and DNA inside cells, leading ...

Hydrogen from acidic water: Researchers develop potential low cost alternative to platinum for splitting water

A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the widely used industrial catalyst molybdenite has been developed by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley ...

New method makes culture of complex tissue possible in any lab

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a new method for making scaffolds for culturing tissue in three-dimensional arrangements that mimic those in the body. This advance, published online in ...

Cell biologists describes mechanism by which some people may be more susceptible to colon cancer

An international research team led by cell biologists at the University of California, Riverside has uncovered a new insight into colon cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United ...