Google's Eric Schmidt Know's How It Works The Laws Are Written By Lobbyists

Hear it from the horses mouth…

And he should know having the ties that Google does snippet...

It would be hard to imagine a better Google story. If the company’s own web services somehow outed the most intimate secrets of CEO Eric Schmidt – a man who says net privacy is only for miscreants - that would surely be the Google story to end all Google stories. But a comeuppance of such epic proportions seems too much to ask. Today’s story will do just fine.

Last month, when Mountain View launched its Google Buzz social networking service, US deputy CTO Andrew McLaughlin was among those who belatedly realized that the Tweetbookish Gmail add-on had publicly exposed the people he emails and chats with the most. So says the Washington-obsessed blog, Big Government. And it was kind enough to provide screenshots. You can see them here.

On one level, this is amusing because McLaughlin is officially the country’s chief internet brain, the man charged with bringing the so-called Web 2.0 revolution to Barack Obama’s federal government. As Big Government points out, McLaughlin works in Obama’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, whose mission includes “safeguarding the privacy of every American…[by] holding businesses accountable for violations of personal privacy.”

But the story resonates on an entirely different level when you consider that McLaughlin joined the Obama administration after serving as Google’s chief lobbyist – its head of global public policy. And according to those screenshots posted by Big Government, Google Buzz outed countless Google employees as among McLaughlin’s most contacted contacts. The blog counts 28 Google employees in his contacts list, including several top Google lobbyists and lawyers.

See also

1. Top Contributors to Barack Obama | OpenSecrets

   We need your help! Your donations help us hold politicians accountable. … Barack Obama(D). Top Contributors. This table lists the top donors to this candidate … Microsoft Corp, $833617. Google Inc, $803436. Citigroup Inc, $701290 …
   www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008… - Cached - Similar

2. Google execs among big donors to inauguration – SFGate

   Jan 3, 2009 … Count on dozens of Bay Area business leaders being out of the office on Jan. 20.As major donors to President-elect Barack Obama’s …
   articles.sfgate.com/…/17199017_1_past-inaugurals-presidential-inaugural-committee-president-elect-barack-obama-s-inauguration - Cached - Similar

3. Obama’s Online Ad Spend Favors Google, Top Source of Donations …

   May 29, 2008 … Kate Kaye at Clickz has done some in-depth analysis of the online ad spending of Democrat Presidential Candidate Barack Obama.
   blog.searchenginewatch.com/080529-094310 - Cached

4. Google Execs Pay $150000 for Obama Bash

   Dec 27, 2008 … Six Google executives, including CEO Eric Schmidt and cofounder Larry Page, … Obama’s committee has capped donations at $50000. …

5. 1. Meet Obama’s Corporate Backers : The Prolific

      Donor: Google. How Much: $373212. What They’ll Want: Google and its employees are …Obama administration that could inspire over $350000 in donations? …
      www.theprolific.com/2008/08/meet-obamas-corporate-backers/ - Cached

   2. Why Google loves Democrats so much | Washington Examiner

      Jul 18, 2010 … This dedication to helping Democrats and President Obama in particular has… It should come as no surprise then that Google’s donations to …
      www.washingtonexaminer.com/…/why-google-loves-democrats-so-much-98698049.html -