Google pays $22.5 million to settle Apple Safari charges

News.Yahoo.com ^ | Thu, Aug 9, 2012 | By Jasmin Melvin

[Swordmaker]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google Inc will pay $22.5 million to settle charges it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple Inc’s Safari browser, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday. The deal ends an FTC probe into allegations that Google used computer code known as “cookies” to trick the Safari browser on iPhones and iPads so the Internet search company could monitor users who had blocked such tracking.

The practice was in violation of a 2011 consent decree Google had negotiated with the FTC over botched rollouts of the social network Buzz, which is now defunct.

Companies such as Google and Facebook Inc rely on collecting user data for a large part of their revenue, but lawmakers and privacy advocates have argued that tech companies are generally not doing enough to safeguard customer privacy.

[PA Engineer]

The link did not work. Here is a working Link.

[Swordmaker]

Google, found in violation of Apple Safari user privacy, ordered to pay $22.5 million fine—PING!

Apple Ping!

Please, No Flame Wars!
Discuss technical issues, software, and hardware.
Don't attack people!
Don't respond to the Anti-Apple Thread Trolls!
PLEASE IGNORE THEM!!!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Swordmaker]

Thanks for fixing the link. Worked before I pasted it there. Also, thanks to the heads up to Stayathomemom.

[jacquej]

I deleted my google account, and switched to Bing quite awhile back.

Any recommendations as to search engines? I don’t have much to be private about, but really do not need any more junk mail to wade through.

Thanks in advance, Swordmaker, for all you do.

[PA Engineer]

I'm nonplused by the penalty. It is going to the government and not the effected parties.

I have tried to figure out in three cases where I was traveling internationally and ended up with data charges while keeping all location services off. My only contact at that point was with wireless hotel and cafe services. I'm am starting to wonder if there is much more to this. The charges were small, but troubling.

[Sontagged]

I agree, google cookies override all safety precautions in Safari while using our data for their enrichment...

class action lawsuit, anyone?

[PA Engineer]

class action lawsuit, anyone?

That is why I'm disgusted with the settlement. They do not have to admit guilt. This makes the lawsuit more complicated.

[FreedomPoster]

Pocket lint for Google.

[Sontagged]

As I type, google analytics put a cookie on my Safari browser by overriding my security precaution. They are making money off us as we type. Class action. Apple should get behind this.

[PA Engineer]

As I type, google analytics put a cookie on my Safari browser by overriding my security precaution. They are making money off us as we type. Class action. Apple should get behind this.

Agreed, and maybe the service providers.

[Menehune56]

Money doesn’t go to allegedly injured parties so this is just Government extortion.

[Menehune56]

Money doesn’t go to allegedly injured parties so this is just Government extortion.

[RedMDer]

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[martin_fierro]

duckduckgo's stock in trade is not to track your search history.

[jacquej]

Thank you, Martin, for the tip . I will go check it out. Do you use it, and are you happy with it?

[Hodar]

This troubles me ... first off, this is hearlded as the “Largest fine in history” - so what? Google made how many hundreds of Millions off this ploy - so fining them a fraction of their profits is actually an incentive to commit this same type of fine again.

I see you poached some animals, and sold the furs for $10,000 - so here’s a fine for $20 and you do not even have to admit guilt. What would you do?

[martin_fierro]

I use it every once in awhile, but still use Google a lot as it’s got some nice features like price search and torrent search.