Google's Eric Schmidt Doesn't Believe Consumer Protection, Competition Safeguards Required, as he's named Global Ad Leader

Eric Schmidt of Google, speaking this week at the Cannes Lions ad festival, incredibly claimed that "the web is self-policing."  Schmidt, who was named "Media Person" of the year at the global marketing event, used this phrase, it appears, in the context of discussing digital ad targeting.  But the message is clear.  Governments, consumer groups, privacy advocates, citizens--have no fear.  The web will take care of everything on its own.  This is both an absurd and self-serving position coming from Google's Executive Chairman.   Like other digital marketers, Google operates in ways that stack the digital deck for itself and advertisers.  Much of online marketing, including what's practiced by Google, is non-transparent and largely unaccountable to the public.  That's why it's important that the FTC new inquiry (which has bungled the Google issue from the beginning, inc. as we raised concerns over Doubleclick and Admob, for example), and the DoJ's review of Admeld be conducted with the intense scrutiny Google deserves.

The web is not "self-policing" Mr. Schmidt.  If I and my colleagues hadn't intervened in 1998 to have Congress protect the privacy of children (COPPA), online marketers would be engaged in even more data collection than at present.   Google's operation of the Doubleclick Ad Exchange, Admob, its vertical ad business targeting financial and health consumers, for example--isn't "self-correcting" when it comes to both privacy and consumer protection.   And by the way, Mr. Schmidt again suggested that Google wants to expands its data collection appartus to shape the behavior of users.  He told the crowd in Cannes, in the context of the expansion of mobile and location targeting, “The best thing would be if Google knew what you wanted without you having to type it in.  With your permission, with a mobile phone we can trigger search queries about where you are.”
Meaningful permission for mobile and others apps, Mr. Schmidt, requires privacy laws and safeguards.  Not the ephemeral notion of a "self-policy" digital marketing system.  No wonder why you don't want to testify  before Congress.