What do you do when you disagree with the privacy policies of one of the largest companies in the world? In the case of Consumer Watchdog, a non-partisan public interest group that runs the website “Inside Google,” you purchase advertising space on a 540-square-foot digital billboard in Times Square.
Consumer Watchdog describes its “Do Not Track Me” Times Square campaign as a battle cry to protect our personal privacy from online companies:
Right now, running twice an hour in Times Square, there’s a 540 sq. ft. animation of Google CEO Eric Schmidt giving little kids free ice cream and secretly gathering their personal information.
We put up the ad to make the public aware of how out of touch Schmidt and Google are when it comes to our privacy rights.
Schmidt is out of control. When questioned about privacy, he has said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” Recently, he suggested children could change their names when they got older if they wanted to escape what was embarrassing and public in their online lives.
Do you agree with the consumer interest group’s decision to run the unconventional ad? Or do you think it’s in bad taste? (I recommend watching the full-length cartoon before making your final decision)